The Severus Snape Saga-Book 1, the Sordid Hat

Chapter 6: Fliers, Flight and Fright

When Severus got back to the Slytherin common room he found his friends waiting for him.

"Where have you been?" asked Bellatrix, who was always the first to ask questions.

"Disney World," said Severus sarcastically.

"We've been meaning to talk to you about Umbridge," said Lucius matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I know what you're gonna say: she's a miserable old hussy and she deserved it," said Severus tiredly.

"No, it's not that," said Lucius seriously.

"Severus, she's gonna be trouble," said Antonin in a concerned voice. "You should have seen her when she got back from detention. She didn't know we were listening, so she said...bad things."

"It was scary," agreed Bellatrix. "She said she's gonna get you and one day you're gonna feel sorry you ever had the gall to exist."

"Well, thanks for being so helpful but I can look after myself," said Severus. "Besides, she's helpless at magic. What's she gonna do, scream me to death?"

"No, but she could be trouble with Corlagon," interjected Rodolphus. "You know, he favors her a lot because she's his daughter. We're worried about you, Sev."

"Thanks, but I can run my own life!" Severus yelled.

"Shhh!" hissed Bellatrix. "People could hear you."

"Let them. I'm already a dangerous freak, aren't I?" said Severus bitterly and he stomped up to bed.

"Some first day this has been," said Antonin gloomily.

"Yeah," said Lucius. "And I'm not sure I want to spend another minute in it. I think I'll go to bed too."

"Same here," agreed Bellatrix, and within a minute everyone else had gone back up to their dormitories and had slipped into welcome sleep.

The Next Day

Severus awoke to find that this time he was up early, as he could hear the contented snores of Lucius, Iago and Evan in the beds near him. He decided there was nothing to be gained by a few more minutes of sleep, so he had better get dressed and he was just preparing to do that when he suddenly noticed that a very strange creature was sniffing about the room with a mop and wash pail.

It was the most abnormal little thing Severus had ever seen, with oversized ears, massive orbs for eyes and an emaciated little body which contrasted sharply with its bloated head. Severus didn't know whether to pull out his wand and drive it off or to try and escape and get a teacher. He decided to try talking to it.

"Oi! What are you doing here?" he barked at the creature.

The little thing whimpered and began clutching at the tea towel it was wearing like a toga so hard that it ripped.

"Oh...Queeky is sorry, sir. Queeky did not know that sir was awake. Queeky would have left an hour ago if he had known that he was intruding on sir. Queeky will have to punish himself for disturbing sir's rest!"

"Look, I was awake anyway," said Severus, starting to feel a little tired of the creature's self-castigation. "But what are you?"

"Queeky is a house elf, sir. Queeky is sorry about disturbing sir. Queeky will put his foot through the furnace if it pleases sir. Queeky would punish himself more, sir, but then he might not be able to serve Professor Dumblesore, sir."

"Look, you don't have to punish yourself..." began Severus, but Queeky had run over to Lucius' bedside table and had started banging his head against it.

"Bad Queeky! Bad Queeky! Bad Queeky!" he squealed between bonks, and his noise awoke Lucius, who rubbed his eyes and grumbled: "Alright, who's making all the racket?"

"It's a bloody house elf, Lucius," said Severus. I just woke up and found him here.

"Oh, a house elf, eh? Well, get lost you little bugger before I curse your eyes out!" snarled Lucius at the house elf, who fell all over himself and scampered out, all the while banging his head on any hard surfaces he could find while squealing "bad Queeky!"

"Why'd you have to treat him like that?" asked Severus annoyedly. "He wasn't hurting you!"

"Sev, that's how you treat house elves. They live for punishment, the bloody little masochists. If you're nice to one he'll start bawling his eyes out. If you treat them badly they'll just dote on you," said Lucius. "I wish the little bastard hadn't woken me up."

"Same here," came the voice of Iago Zolario, who was now sitting up in his bed.

"Hey, Iago," said Severus. "Long time no see."

"Yeah, well if you want to talk you know where to find me," replied Iago snidely.

"Isn't your dad Kazarus Zolario?" asked Lucius.

"Yeah, that's right. Not that it's any of your concern, Malfoy," smirked Iago.

"Hey, what's with the hostility trip?" asked Lucius.

"What hostility trip? I'm not being unduly hostile," said Iago enigmatically.

Severus heard Lucius distinctly mutter suspicious prat before pulling on his clothes.

When they had all gotten dressed and slung their book bags over their bags and stuffed their wands in their pockets, the four members of the dormitory strode down to breakfast. Severus valiantly tried to make conversation with Iago, but he only got short and rather annoyed answers to the questions he tried asking.

He found, to his annoyance, that Umbridge was waiting for them at the doors to the great hall. She looked very pleased with herself. Severus did not want to know why, but unfortunately he found out anyway.

Plastered behind Severus were a whole array of posters which all depicted him performing the Avada Kedavra curse on the rat in Corlagon's class. They read:

Stop the Intrusion of Dark Magic on our School!

It recently has become apparent, due to a thoroughly unpleasant incident in Defense Against the Dark Arts, that the dark arts may have a stronger hold on Hogwarts' staff and possibly even headmaster. Three students, each of them capable of performing an Unforgivable curse, have been admitted to our school and allowed to study as one of us. Not only that, but they have been receiving mysterious letters from a Professor who shall remain anonymous, detailing when they shall learn "extracurricular activities". If you want to stop this unfortunate intrusion of the dark magic on our fair school write a petition to Headmaster Dumbledore with the following request:

Expel Severus Snape, Bellatrix Black and Antonin Dolohov!

Signed

Dolores Umbridge, a concerned student.

Severus looked at Umbridge in horror. His reaction was one of the milder ones, as Lucius had just started yelling all sorts of obscene things at her while brandishing his wand furiously. However, things got much worse when Bellatrix and Antonin arrived. Antonin actually blasted one of the pieces of parchment with his wand, but it just blew a raspberry at him when the magic failed to even singe it.

"Well, it looks like our least favorite dark wizard progeny are going to be on the train home within a few days," laughed Umbridge cruelly. Severus was furious. This was going too far, and he had had enough. He strode forward, seized Umbridge's collar and pushed her up against the wall. He then pulled out his wand and pointed it at her before muttering "adhero."

He released Umbridge and stood back to view his handiwork. She tried to pull out her wand, but couldn't, as her entire body was stuck to the wall. Bellatrix, Antonin and the rest all laughed hysterically as she tried frantically to pry herself free. Then, just for good measure, Antonin and Severus performed the Boils and Jelly Legs curses on her at the same time, causing her to sprout little tentacles all over her face. Bellatrix put the finishing touches on it by writing magically in the air: Dolores Umbridge: an interfering, prejudiced, half-witted cow.

Leaving Umbridge to her misery, Severus and his friends walked over to the Slytherin table where they began to help themselves to food. It wasn't until a voice spoke in Severus' head that he realized with shock that he'd put on the wrong hat.

"Will you be needing anything, master?"

Severus tried not to listen, but he couldn't help wondering something that had been troubling him for the past few days.

"Why can't you tell me who sent you?"

"Because they forbade me to."

"But if I'm your master...."

"But you are not my creator. I cannot tell you who sent me because it would destroy me."

Severus sighed and decided to ask the hat a more trivial question.

"What's an embarrassing fact about Dolores Umbridge?"

"She has a crush on Master Lestrange."

Severus punched the air with satisfaction and pulled the hat off. So that was the reason she wanted Bellatrix expelled, and not just because she'd slapped her. She resented Bellatrix's friendship with Rodolphus. Well, he wasn't going to let it just hang there.

"Hey, Rodolphus!" he shouted.

"What?" asked Rodolphus.

"A reliable contact of mine," he flicked his eyes at the hat "Just told me that Dolores Umbridge FANCIES you."

Rodolphus burst out laughing, as did everybody who had heard Severus. Apparently Umbridge's notices hadn't attracted the attention of any of the Slytherins.

Rodolphus shouted back: "Bellatrix, you have my permission to curse her into a thousand tiny pieces!"

Bellatrix smiled and then burst out laughing herself. But Severus had stopped caring about this and was watching Corlagon, who had just received the letters he had written using the hat. He watched as Corlagon tore them open and had to fight down the urge to whoop when he saw the color drain slowly from Corlagon's arrogant face. Then, he quickly went back to his food as Corlagon sent an eye around the Great Hall, apparently hoping the perpetrator was just an insolent student.

Severus could not have been happier as he left the great hall for the first lesson of the day: Flying! Of course, this subject was wasted on his gang but it would be fun to see Umbridge on a broom...assuming she could unstick herself that is.

Severus and his gang spent the walk down contemplating their next move against Umbridge and Corlagon. When they got there, they found that Umbridge had managed to detach herself from the wall, but not the tentacles, which were still hanging off her face. Antonin's father was also there, dressed in a set of Russian Quidditch robes with his Shooting Star in his hand. Antonin seemed to tense up when he saw his father standing there and mumbled something incoherent.

Severus had just picked the broom he wanted to use when he saw Bellatrix stride up to Umbridge and inquire snidely "Enjoying your makeover?"

Umbridge merely warbled in reply. "What?" asked Bellatrix cruelly, and she yanked one of the tentacles, "I can't HEAR you!"

Umbridge made a very loud and urgent noise which sounded like a scream. "Speak CLEARLY!" hissed Bellatrix, tugging another tentacle and laughing cruelly. Never before had Severus seen Bellatrix act so senselessly nasty, and he wondered if she was having an off-day.

When Bellatrix had finished tugging the tentacles one more time, she strode over and picked the broom next Severus'.

"Was that really necessary?" asked Severus when Bellatrix had taken her place.

"Was what necessary?" she asked.

"The way you treated Umbridge?" he asked, "I mean, I don't like her any more than you do, but don't you think yanking her tentacles like that was overkill?"

"Sev, you're getting soft in your old age. Here's something to remember: You have to be firm, even if it means you have red wallpaper," Bellatrix said ominously.

Severus shuddered. Bellatrix had sounded genuinely frightening, saying something that cold. Was she starting to get a little too vengeful for her own good? He pushed these thoughts from his mind as he saw with horror that they were flying with the Gryffindors.

James Potter was standing near a broom a few yards up and Lily was standing next to him. Severus felt his insides clench and unclench at the sight of her in that close a proximity to Potter. All the same, he looked forward to seeing whether Potter could really fly as well as he boasted. He seriously doubted it, or at least, he forced himself to doubt it. He couldn't stand it if Potter really were a good flier or, horror of horrors, were better than him.

Severus suddenly heard his name called in roll-call. "Here!" he exclaimed forcefully. Mr. Dolohov looked him over and said "Ah, good, you look in good shape, Severus. Make sure my son doesn't get into trouble."

"I won't let him, Mist...er...Professor Dolohov," said Severus, grinning. He was pleased to see James Potter's mouth hanging open. Yes, being friends with the flying teacher was certainly an advantage.

Mr. Dolohov clapped Antonin on the back when he reached his name and said "Go get 'em, son!" Before moving on to a big, muscular boy called Macnair. When he'd finally done the full roll call, Mr. Dolohov turned to the class and said, in his most authoritative voice:

"Alright, what you are about to learn is the single most convenient manner of magical travel available to anyone who is not allowed to Apparate. This is also the foundation of the game Quidditch, a sport of amazing nobility and immense honor. If I catch ANYONE screwing around in my class, I will be sure to have that person removed...permanently," he paused to let the last word sink in and then continued. "Now, place your right hand over the broom and say UP!"

The class simultaneously shouted "UP!" and only a few brooms flew into their owner's hands. In fact, only Severus, Bellatrix, Antonin, Lucius, Rodolphus and unfortunately Potter managed to have brooms in their hands by the first try. Mr. Dolohov commended them on it and told the rest of them to pick up their brooms. Umbridge had some trouble doing this, as her broom simply seemed to not want her holding on to it and gave her a mouthful of straw in an effort to get her to let go. Mr. Dolohov had to stun the broom into submission.

"Alright, now that you have your brooms, mount them with your left foot...I said your LEFT foot, Miss Umbridge, thank you. Now, the ladies sit sidesaddle under any conditions but a Quidditch match, and since this is not one of those, all ladies please assume the sidesaddle position."

Severus saw Bellatrix assuming sidesaddle in such a way as to catch Rodolphus' attention. Mr. Dolohov then walked around correcting their grips and actually had to physically pry Umbridge's hands into the proper position. Severus watched this and his sharp correction of James Potter with glee. Mr. Dolohov then said "Now, on my signal, push off from the ground. !...2...3!"

They all pushed off simultaneously. Severus, of course found it all ridiculously easy and flashed Antonin a look that said quite clearly: "Let's show them some real flying!" Antonin nodded and he and Severus simultaneously turned over and started riding their brooms upside-down.

"Son...I mean, Antonin! Stop that at once! You too, Mr. Snape!" shouted Mr. Dolohov, but Snape and Antonin had now done a brilliant spiraling motion which made the others, who were just getting the hang of their brooms, oo and awe.

But James Potter was not impressed. Severus saw him nod to Sirius Black and suddenly those two had started flying in dazzling loops and twists, snaking around the treetops of the forbidden forest.

"Mr. Potter! Mr. Black! Come back here at once!"

"Ah, let the four of them have a little fun, Professor," Severus heard another boy say. "They know what they're doing!"

"But they could get....oh, alright. Carry on, you four, but if you fall off your brooms don't come crying to me!" Mr. Dolohov snapped. Well, that was too much for Bellatrix, Lucius and Serena, who now also started flying in daring maneuvers. Severus saw Mr. Dolohov crack a smile when he and Antonin flew up into the forbidden forest and returned with a pinecone, which they both began throwing to each other.

"Yes, well, while those seven are enjoying themselves those of you who can't yet do what they're doing...MISS UMBRIDGE WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!"

Severus turned to see Umbridge, with an expression of pure malice, flip over on her broom and attempt to fly upside down. Well, for a few seconds it worked, but then the broom went bonkers as it started bucking around, trying to throw her off. Severus smiled. Not only had they had a great time, but they had provoked Umbridge into doing something horridly reckless. He watched as she frantically attempted to right herself on the broom but only succeeded in making it buck more vigorously.

"Everyone remain calm. Stay still, Miss Umbridge and I'll correct this! Pacifo Broom!" roared Mr. Dolohov, but Umbridge's broom had now gone into a dive that carried her so low that her cloak got caught on a rock, causing her to lose her grip on the broom and fall off while the broom started to drift lazily up over the towers and steeples of Hogwarts.

"Alright, everyone down! THAT APPLIES TO YOU SEVEN TOO! I'm taking Miss Umbridge to the hospital wing. The rest of you put your brooms away. This lesson is cancelled." Mr. Dolohov strode away while supporting Umbridge, who still sported tentacles. However, he turned back around and almost as an afterthought added "And take fifty points for Slytherin and Twenty for Gryffindor for some damn good flying!" And with that he and Umbridge disappeared into the castle.

"You reckon she'll be alright?" asked Severus as he walked back up to the castle with the others.

"Who cares?" asked Bellatrix. "Though that was bloody brilliant, you two, taking off like that. She must really hate you guys getting credit."

"You helped," said Antonin. "And I think my dad's condoning what we did might have helped too."

"But seriously, she could be really badly hurt!" said Serena.

"What's it to you, Serena?" asked Rodolphus. "She told everyone about your parents."

"Yeah, but that kind of grudge is nothing compared to being thrown off your broo-"

"Serena, we're in Slytherin, we hold grudges no matter what," said Severus tiredly.

"Well, YOU may, Severus, but I don't. I'm going to try and see how she is," said Serena.

"She's barking," said Augustus. "You might as well try negotiating with the giant squid."

They all laughed as the said squid lashed a tentacle out of the water, as if agreeing with them.

Their next class was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Corlagon looked disappointed to see that Severus, Bellatrix and Antonin all had their wands in one hand and their books in the other. Clearly he had been looking to take points off of them.

"Alright," began Corlagon, looking around at the class. "It appears that you all remember what I told you about having your wands and books out when you enter my class. Very good. Ten points to Slytherin. Now, today we will be studying various kinds of dark objects and then I will be asking about each of your essays on the three darkest wizards. Now there are many kinds of...Miss Umbridge, what happened to you?"

Umbridge had just walked in with her arm in a sling and a loan tentacle still dangling out of her forehead. Iago Zolario raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Zolario?"

"If you please sir, Miss Umbridge fell off her broom in flying class today."

"I was not aware that falling off your broom could somehow place a tentacle on your face, Mr. Zolario, but that does account for the broken arm. Thank you," said Corlagon, and then he turned to Umbridge. "How did you get the tentacle, Miss Umbridge?"

"Snape and Dolohov gave it to me," she whimpered.

"Well, I'll deal with this after class. As I was saying, there are many kinds of dark obj...Why, Miss Umbridge, you do not have your wand or your book in either hand. Serious, very serious. Five points from Slytherin and if I don't see them in the next five minutes it will be fifty. Now, there are many kinds of dark objects and it would be a waste of time to go through them all. However, there is a saying which I expect you all to memorize regarding them: Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain. That's a famous auror proverb. Copy it down."

Severus fished in his bag and got out a quill and parchment and wrote "Don't trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain." And stopped. His hat could think for itself, and he had no idea where it kept its brain. Could it he enchanted with dark magic?

"Now, I said it would be a waste of time to tell you about all kinds of dark magic, but there are several very notable ones which I should tell you about. Firstly, the bootlegger," began Corlagon, motioning towards a perfectly ordinary walking stick. "It has the ability to conceal anything stored within it and a mere removal of its head..." Corlagon removed the head from the walking stick and a bouquet of flowers shot out of the top, "can expose the materials inside. Bootleggers are not inherently dark objects, but as they are so frequently used by dark wizards to conceal their supplies, they should be considered dark accessories. Now, our second dark object is a Lethifold's cloak," indicating a long, black, hooded cape. "While Lethifold cloaks are harmless, unless the Lethifold itself is alive, when Lethifold cloaks are left pickled in a jar for a few hours they can be used to produce a powerful poison which will shut down the victim's respiratory system. While it is not proven, people wearing Lethifold cloaks are said to be more adept at performing the Imperius curse than others." Here Corlagon's eyes darted to Bellatrix, who stared back defiantly.

"And last, but not least," Corlagon approached something which had a cloth wrapped around it, "The horrific summoner's cap!" Corlagon pulled the cloth off to reveal a seemingly ordinary wizard's hat. "While summoner's caps vary greatly in their respective power, there is one defining trait. They are the earthly vessels of the malevolent spirit of a dark wizard who has died at the hands of another dark wizard and has been transmuted into the hat by the same person. If allowed to remain on the head of the unfortunate wizard owning it for long enough, the spirit of the wizard contained in the summoner's cap will eventually possess its owner. Now, summoner's caps may, on very rare occasions, contain the spirits of good wizards, but this is a one-in-a-million occurrence. Most summoner's caps are currently locked up in a high security safe in the Department of Mysteries, but any dark wizard with sufficient magical prowess would be able to create one simply by allowing himself to be murdered by another dark wizard who knows how to perform the ritual. That is why of all the items I have shown you, summoner's caps are the most dangerous because you never know when one will crop up! Now the one I have here contains the spirit of none other than Ivan Dolohov, who allowed himself to be transformed into one in order to insure his immortality. I have decided that those of you who have not started your dark wizard reports shall, rather than lose house points, be forced to wear this hat for the duration of two minutes before leaving class."

After that, Corlagon set about asking the students how their reports were going. He seemed especially disappointed when both Bellatrix and Antonin showed him a half a page of work. Unforunately, though, Rita Skeeter had to wear the hat for two minutes because Corlagon caught her using a Quick Quotes Quill. When he took it off she was shaking. Severus, for his part, had used his hat the previous night when everyone was asleep and written down a full page of work on his father. Corlagon looked especially sour when he saw Severus' work and then went back to sweeping around the classroom. Severus saw with immense pleasure that once had had passed Umbridge, she was now wearing the summoner's cap.

When Corlagon had dismissed them, however, Severus suddenly thought of something. What if the hat he'd received was a Summoner's cap? No, that was ludicrous, but all the same...shouldn't he run a few tests on it?

As Severus was walking into lunch, however, he heard a voice behind him. "Snape! Dolohov! Black!" He turned around to see Professor McGonagall walking toward him, Bellatrix and Antonin. "Professor Dumbledore wishes to see you," she said and swept away. "Come on!"

Severus felt a knot grow in his throat. What if Umbridge's fliers had worked and they were going to be expelled? He followed McGonagall leadenly with Bellatrix and Antonin in tow. When they reached a large gargoyle, Professor McGonagall muttered "Fizzing Whisbee" and to their surprise they felt themselves being pulled up a large spiral staircase with the gargoyle at its head.

Professor Dumbledore's office was a strange place, with an army of portraits on the walls and a massive study in the back. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk with Professors Corlagon and Riddle standing next to him.

"Ahh, Miss Black, Mr. Snape, Mr. Dolohov. Please, sit down," said Dumbledore amiably. "Sherbet lemon?"

"What?" asked Severus.

"Sherbet lemon. They're a kind of Muggle Sweet I enjoy very much. Help yourselves," said Professor Dumbledore, extending a basket of candies towards them. Bellatrix, Antonin and Severus all took one doubtfully and put them in their mouths...and spat them out immediately. Dumbledore chuckled.

"Sadly, it appears that they are an acquired taste. Oh, well, not everyone enjoys Muggle sweets," he said. "Now, to business. Professor Corlagon here has been to see me about some rather distressing letters that her received this morning and he seems to be under the impression that you three wrote them."

"Of course they wrote them!" snarled Corlagon. "They're the kids of the three wizards I called the darkest in the world! Probably trying to get a cheap effort at revenge."

"But you showed me these letters, Dalverry. They contain....information which is very personal. Where do you think they would have found such things out?"

"They have their ways," snarled Corlagon, "I personally believe that Miss Umbridge's papers are entirely correct: They are using dark magic to find out other people's secrets."

"So you think we should expel them, as Miss Umbridge has so unkindly suggested? I must admit that I have received only three petitions so far regarding this and they were all written by Miss Umbridge. It seems the girl fancies herself quite the forger," said Dumbledore nonchalantly.

"Of course we should expel them!" snarled Corlagon. "Writing threats like that to a teacher is utterly unheard of!"

"There is no proof that they wrote them!" snarled Riddle.

"Dalverry, I am worried that you are letting your...past muffle your judgment," said Dumbledore. "Therefore, I have a little trial I want to attempt. I will place a charm on each of their wands which will prevent them from snapping unless the owner deserves to be expelled. You may then try to break them with whatever methods you choose, Dalverry. Give me your wands, my dears."

Severus handed over his wand, as did Bellatrix and Antonin. Dumbledore muttered "Solicitus Spectarus" and gave the wands to Corlagon. "Now, those of them who deserve to be expelled will lose their wands. Those of them who do not will effectively have indestructible wands."

Corlagon smiled and picked up Severus' wand. He tugged on each end as hard as he could, but the wand did not budge. He tried to break it against his knee. The wand did not budge. He tried using magic to break it, but still the wand did not budge.

"I think," said Dumbledore, "That we are satisfied that Mr. Snape belongs at Hogwarts. You may move on to Miss Black."

The same thing happened with Bellatrix's wand. Corlagon could not break it no matter what he tried, and at last he gave up.

"Well," said Dumbledore, "then that is settled. Mr. Dolohov is the only one who remains."

Corlagon seemed to be on his last legs as he strove frantically against Antonin's stubborn wand. Finally, exhausted, he let the wand drop.

"Now then, Dalverry, I think these students had better be getting to classes. Tom, if you could kindly give them each a sustaining potion to make up for lunch."

Riddle handed them each a bright red potion which tasted absolutely wonderful while Corlagon begrudgingly gave their wands back. Dumbledore had one more thing to say to Corlagon, though.

"And please alert Miss Umbridge that if she does not want to lose house points for putting ungracious slander on our walls, she will have to take all her fliers down for detention tonight. Good afternoon gentlemen and lady," Dumbledore inclined his head toward Bellatrix, who nodded back weakly.

"Dumbledore is a genius!" hissed Antonin on their way down. "Did you see the look on Corlagon's face?"

"Yeah," said Bellatrix. "Looks like Dumbledore's got a great sense of irony to go with his sense of justice."

"He gave Corlagon just what he wanted, the chance to expel us. He just made it so we had a fighting chance," said Severus, "Dumbledore is a GOD."

But then Severus remembered. He had N.E.W.T Potions next. He rushed pell mell down into the dungeon and got into the classroom just as the bell rang. He found himself staring at an assortment of sixth years, who looked at him curiously. One of them approached him.

"Hey, you lost, kid?" he asked.

"No, he is not," said Professor Riddle's voice and a second later Professor Riddle rose out of the cauldron. "My apologies, I should have told you about this. This first year, Severus Snape by name, will be joining us here in your potions class. If any of you have any doubts about his skills, let me tell you that master Snape produced a flawless Draught of luck merely by looking at the wrong recipe in his first year potions class. I expect you all to treat him as one of you despite the age gap while you are in this class. He is just as skillful as any of you (in fact, better than some) at this subject and anybody treating him as an inferior will answer to me." The other students looked shocked. The sixth year boy who had asked Severus if he were lost smiled with a resigned look.

"Well, welcome to our class, Snape. My name's Lucas Avery and this is Deporal Travers," a lanky, black haired boy nodded to Severus. "Now come on and sit with us or the Prof will have a heart attack."

"Gods forbid," said Riddle ominously and he launched into a lecture.

"Today we will be learning to make a Mandrake draught. Now, our Herbology teacher, Professor Lodovico, has procured a mandrake for each pair and other than them you should find all supplies you need in the cupboards. Good luck." Riddle tapped the blackboard and the instructions appeared.

It certainly was a complicated potion and Severus, whose partner was Lucas Avery, found himself glad that he had someone else there to work with. Avery was less adept at seeing how it all fit than he was, but he was good at reciting the instructions out loud while Severus made the potion. By the end of the lesson, Severus had a perfect Mandrake Draught simmering in front of him. This certainly caused any classmates who had thought of him as an upstart first year to show him actual respect. After the lesson was dismissed, quite a few students who had thrown him snide looks walked over and shook his hand earnestly. Severus was pleased, the sixth years were powerful allies.

Severus fished in his bag and pulled out the hat and looked at it. It couldn't be a summoner's cap, it just couldn't. It had said itself that he was its master and if that was so, then it wouldn't dream of possessing him. With these thoughts in his mind, Severus placed the hat on his head with a flourish as if he were saying to an invisible Corlagon "Go to Tartarus."

It seemed like a few minutes later when Severus woke up in the hospital wing. He saw the hat on his bedside table and wondered what had happened. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, bustled over and said "Oh you're awake now are you? Well, that was quick. You've only been out of it for a few hours and if you hurry you can get to dinner."

"What happened? Asked Severus shakily.

"Oh, blacked out on the whole thing, eh? Well, it seems that you placed that hat on your head and then met with Professor Riddle. Miss Black went to fetch you for your Herbology class and heard snatches of an argument between Professor Riddle and another gentleman, but when she investigated she found you sleeping in a chair while Professor Riddle had your hat on his head. You then woke up and from what I can gather, followed Miss Black through the school until you reached the Herbology greenhouses, where you passed out. You have been here ever since."

Severus was shocked, he did all this and could remember none of it? It was strange, but for some reason he thought the hat was somehow connected with it as the last thing he could remember as putting it on...

No. The last thing he could remember was a high cold voice in the back of his head saying something he couldn't quite make out. Then he remembered with a jolt that he had his private lessons in the dark arts tonight with Professor Riddle. He sat up in his bed, pulled his robes on and left the hospital wing inconspicuously while Madam Pomfrey tended to another patient.

He snuck into the common room and up into his dormitory, where he found the cane with all his stuff in it. He stuffed it under his cloak and headed back to the Great Hall, where he found that the walls were mercifully clean of Umbridge's humiliating fliers.

As soon as he was in the Great hall, however, he almost had a heart attack as two arms were flung around him and a lot of red hair flew into his face.

"Severus!" came Serena's voice. "Oh, Sev, are you alright? We thought we'd lost you for a minute there! Oh, Sev, I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Serena, you can let go of me," choked Severus, "I think I'm gonna pass out again for lack of oxygen."

"Oh, sorry, Sev," said Serena, who released him blushing furiously. Severus turned to see Bellatrix, Antonin and Lucius standing there too. Bellatrix, rather than hugging him, shook his hand in a dignified way and said "Good to have you back in action, Sev."

"All hail Severus, King of the Simmering Cauldron!" chanted Antonin, before placing a wreath of laurels on Severus' head which Severus hastily removed.

"You ok, mate?" asked Lucius, looking him over from top to bottom.

"Yeah," said Severus. "But guys, I think it's time we looked at that hat."

"Fine, we'll do it after dinner," said Bellatrix.

"Great, well....oh no, I forgot. I've got da...extracurricular activities lessons with Professor Riddle. The same thing goes for Antonin and Lucius."

Antonin and Lucius slapped themselves on the head.

"So when do you propose we investigate your new piece of headwear?" asked Lucius.

"This weekend. In the meantime, I'll see if I can get a note from Professor Riddle to look in the restricted section."

"Alright," said the others simultaneously.

"In the meantime," said Bellatrix seriously, "Don't put that hat on again, Sev. Gods know what it might do."

"Alright," said Severus. "I'm trusting you guys to see that nobody finds out about it either."

"Ok," said Bellatrix, and she swept her arm behind a tapestry and pulled the last person they wanted to see out from behind it. "Umbridge, this was really ill-advised."

"Damn!" Umbridge snarled, but before she could walk away, Bellatrix grabbed her by the wrist. "And Umbridge, if you so much as lay a finger on Rodolphus or breathe a word about what you heard tonight, I'll make you forget everything you ever knew."

Umbridge looked horrified, "How do you know?" she asked.

"We have our sources. Keep your trap shut and I won't plaster fliers about it all over the school," said Bellatrix with a nasty smile. Umbridge looked genuinely frightened, and rushed off to the Slytherin table.

"Well?" asked Bellatrix. "Shall we then, Sev?"

Severus had difficulty eating due to the large lump he had in his stomach about Dark Arts lessons. When he had finally forced down the seemingly endless steak he was eating, he drained his flagon of pumpkin juice and swept down to Riddle's dungeon office. A few minutes later, Antonin and Lucius joined him.

"Well, here goes nothing," said Severus, and he knocked on the door.

"Come in!" came Riddle's voice and Severus, Lucius and Antonin walked in.

"Ah, Mr. Snape, Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Dolohov. I see you are on time for your first lesson in the extracurricular materials. Excellent. Please, sit down," said Riddle.

Severus took some time to look around Riddle's massive dungeon office. He hadn't paid it much attention when he'd been in here before, but now he realized that it really was a magnificent place. The place was virtually made up of shelves filled with all sorts of strange jars and flagons with bizarre contents. The place smelled like an apothecary on steroids and Riddle's desk was virtually made up of jars too except for a few solitary drawers. It was one of these that Riddle opened and pulled out a musky old tome. Severus could just make out its title:

The Dark Arts: A complete guide and instruction manual for the usage of the most dangerous, complex and controversial magic known to wizard kind.

Riddle set it on his desk reverently and turned to face the three of them. He was now in full teacher mode.

"The Dark Arts," he said to them in a soft, ominous voice, "Are an ancient and feared branch of magic which originates from the time of the Ancient Egyptians. Back then, certain court magicians working in the court of the Pharaoh discovered that by tapping into the powers granted by the God Set, the god of Evil, they gained far more terrible and great powers than any granted by the good Gods. Set, the first source, later passed his power to Hades, who then made his own modifications and passed it to Pluto, our current source for the Dark Arts. This is perhaps the only branch of magic which is deemed by some wizards to be either too morbid or too addictive for study by the public at large. However, certain people, like the headmaster of Durmstrang and myself, believe that Defense against these powers can only be fully comprehended if the usage of these powers is taught as well. I need not tell you not to fool around in this particular educational atmosphere, your actions will punish you themselves. If you screw up a single curse, you can find yourself writhing on the floor in excruciating pain, not your victim. You may even find yourself in mortal danger. You have been warned."

Severus could see Antonin and Lucius bite their lips.

"Now," said Riddle, "The first thing I will be teaching you is how to tap into the dark powers that support these spells. I am aware that some of you can perform unforgivable curses, but let me tell you that using them against Puffskeins and Rats is one thing while using them against another human being is a different story. Severus!" he barked, making Severus jump. "Try to use Avada Kedavra on me!"

Severus was shocked. Whatever he'd expected, it was not for Riddle to ask to be killed. "Are you sure, sir?" he asked.

"Yes," said Riddle.

Severus pulled out his wand, rolled up his sleeves and exclaimed "Avada Kedavra!" while pointing his wand point blank at Riddle's heart. Nothing happened. Riddle laughed.

"You see?" he asked. "It will not work! Why? Because you do not truly tap into the dark powers when you administer it against animals. To kill me with that curse you would have to really want to kill me, to relish it, to enjoy it...Mr. Dolohov!"

Antonin jumped. Riddle glared at him.

"Use the Cruciatus curse on me!" he snapped.

Antonin took a deep breath and said quite determinedly "Crucio!" while pointing his wand at Riddle. Riddle flinched for a second, but kept his glance on Antonin.

"Is that all?" he asked, "Hardly the torture I expected, Mr. Dolohov. Why cannot Mr. Dolohov perform that curse on me? Because he does not wallow in his desire to cause pain. He does not feel a deep, irrational hatred for me which can take magical form in his curse! He cannot force himself to hate me so much that he would enjoy torturing me. But I assure you that by the time you are out of these lessons you will be able to perform these curses on human beings. Now, in order to tap into the dark powers you have to...hate something!"

Severus tried to think of something he hated. The first thing that came to mind was Umbridge and James Potter, but that wasn't strong enough. But then he thought of Corlagon slapping Bellatrix, of Lucius throwing Lily out of their compartment in the Hogwarts express, and he felt a deep welt of hatred swell up inside his mind.

"Now learn to focus that hatred!" snapped Riddle. "Focus it on me! Hate me with all your might!"

Severus focused hard on hating Riddle, he forced his mind to blame the whole Hogwarts express incident, Corlagon's behavior towards Bellatrix, Umbridge's fliers, he forced himself to blame them all on Riddle.

"Now use whatever curse you wish against me!" snapped Riddle and Antonin and Lucius both cried "Crucio!" while Severus cried "Avada Kedavra!" This time the effect was quite different. Riddle vanished just as their curses erupted from their wands, but Severus saw with shock that his wand had sent a brilliant flash of green light out at Riddle and that Antonin's and Lucius' Cruciatus curses had cracked the wall. Riddle reappeared behind them.

"You may stop hating me," he said.

Severus found that more difficult than he thought, but when he finally forced his mind to surrender its fury against Riddle, he turned to look at the Professor.

"You have just learned how to tap into the dark powers. As we progress this will become easier. You will not have to work so hard to hate something. It will come naturally after a period of progress. In the meantime, suffice it to say that you have learned enough for tonight. And I will give you all a potion for dreamless sleep. Because you have tapped into the dark powers does not mean you should have to bear the nightmares that accompany that. Many adult wizards go mad after them, so I will not put you three through it. Take these potions before going to sleep tonight."

Riddle gave them each a small, purple potion before ushering them out of his office and closing the door.

"That was awesome!" breathed Antonin.

"Did you notice the way it felt when our curses worked?" breathed Lucius.

"Yeah," said Antonin, "It was like ecstacy."

"Professor Riddle certainly knows how to teach the Dark Arts well," said Severus. "He had me spellbound with that opening speech."

"Yeah, that was frightening, and especially when he made us perform unforgivable curses on him! I thought he was nuts!" Antonin said admiringly.

"Maybe he was," said Lucius even more admiringly.

"Well, come on, let's get to bed," said Severus when they reached the common room. And with that he strode up to the his dormitory with Lucius and once there, he and Lucius chugged their potions for dreamless sleep and instantly succumbed to their tiredness.