Title – The Strength of a Slytherin 11/11

Rating – PG-13

Disclaimer – I own none of this, it all belongs to Rowling.  I just have the honor of using her creations in my story.  No slash, sex or profanity.

Summary – Moving On

Archive – Sure, just let me know first

A/N – Ok maybe this fic wasn’t as angsty as I said it was going to be – it basically sets everything up and introduces the characters and their relationships.  Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I appreciate every word you have to say!  I hope you stick around for the next part, however I’m planning on working on the R version of ‘The Price We Pay’ for a while so I’m pushing the ‘Sorrows of a Slytherin’ back to mid-March.  Don’t forget to leave me a little review so I know what you liked, disliked and are looking forward to now that our Sevvie is at Hogwarts!  Read and enjoy! 

The Strength of a Slytherin

Epilogue

         “And the rest, they say, is history.”

          Snape finished and carefully refolded the acceptance letter.  He placed it back in the box, staring again at the ravens and snakes carved in the dark wood. With a final sigh he closed the lid on his childhood memories.  Then Snape gracefully got to his feet and smoothed out his robes, waiting for Dumbledore to stand as well.

          “That’s it?  There’s nothing more?” The Headmaster asked with a frown, eyes searching the Potions master and the room.

          “What more did you expect Albus?  You wanted a few stories and you got them.  Now, despite my better judgment, it is about time we headed up to the Feast.” Snape replied and placed the box on his bed, protecting it with several spells.  Later tonight he would find a better place to safeguard it.  He helped Dumbledore to his feet as the older wizard glanced at the time and said,

          “I suppose you’re right.  Poor Minerva is probably up to her ears in impatient officials and guests by now.  I’m surprised she hasn’t sent someone down to find us.”

          It was as if his comment heralded the witch’s arrival for a second later they heard a loud banging on the outer doors and McGonagall’s stern voice carried through the thick walls of the dungeon quarters.

          “Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape!!  You open up this door right this instance or so help me Merlin I will break it down myself!  Do you realize what time it is?  I’ve had to listen to that idiot Fudge prattle on about himself for the last 30 minutes!”

          They turned a deaf ear to the rest of the witch’s tirade, savoring the last few moments of peace before they were thrust into the spotlight.  Dumbledore could not quite suppress a smile and from the corner of his eye he saw the Slytherin’s lips twitch upward in a similar grin.  Snape shook the hair out of his eyes and schooled his face back into cold indifference.  He gestured to the door and said,

          “Well then I suggest we don’t give Minerva the opportunity to follow through with her threat.  We don’t want to be any later than we already are.”

          “True, but this was time well spent my boy.” Dumbledore told him as they entered the living area.  His blue eyes were immediately drawn to the perch in the corner and the great raven sitting on it.  Smiling, he asked,

          “How old is Mercury now Severus?”

          Snape looked over at Mercury and the raven cocked his head, beady eyes staring back at his owner.  Although ravens belonging to wizards and witches lived an extraordinarily long time, some of the black feathers were tinged with gray and Snape wondered how much longer he would enjoy the company of his familiar. 

          “He’s at least twenty years old now.  Magical ravens live a long time; I suspect I’ll have a few gray hairs of my own by the time Merc passes on.”

          Dumbledore laughed and turned to leave.  Snape hesitated, looking back over his shoulder at the few mementoes he had placed around his bedroom. 

          The wildflowers were a welcome splash of color and he made a mental note to hide his childhood picture book before someone besides Dumbledore saw it.  His mother’s potions book he would send to Draco by the end of the week and the snitch would go back in the box for continued safekeeping.  His eyes darted to the photo of his mother and he smiled a little when she happily waved at him.  Then they passed over the set of potion scales gleaming brightly in the torchlight and finally came to rest on the box that had protected these items and memories through many years of hardship and turmoil.

          “Severus?  Are you ready to go?”

          Snape shook himself out of his thoughts and sighed.

          “Yes.  I’m ready.”

          The Headmaster clapped merrily, his blue eyes twinkling.

          “Wonderful!  I heard the elves have outdone themselves for this feast and I don’t want to miss any of it.  They even made the lemon pudding I requested!”

          Snape’s lip curled in distaste and he said,

          “You’re the Headmaster, you can request anything and the elves would make it for you.  I still don’t know how you can stand that revolting lemon confection.  At least there will be proper cakes and dessert for us normal, non-Headmaster folk.”      

          Dumbledore chuckled and patted Snape’s arm.

          “I think even you won’t find anything to complain about tonight.  Shall we face Minerva together?”

          Sighing again, Snape motioned for Dumbledore to go first and the Headmaster opened the door, revealing the Transfiguration Professor in full furious glory.

          “- and shame on you Albus for leaving without – Oh!” McGonagall quieted suddenly to glare at them, arms crossed over her chest.

          “I do apologize for leaving you so abruptly but I had to find our wayward Potions master.  Here we are however.  Let’s head upstairs shall we?” Dumbledore said with a disarming smile and tried to move past his Deputy.

          “Not so fast Albus Dumbledore!  Just why did it take you almost an hour to fetch Severus?”

          Dumbledore glanced back at Snape, who was closing the door to his quarters and replacing the wards, and shrugged casually.

          “Severus and I were merely debating whether or not now would be a good time to pack our things and escape before someone was sent to hunt us down.  I wanted to bring along my bowling trophies and Severus here was trying to talk me out of it - hence our delay.”

          As he had predicted McGonagall threw up her hands and shook her head, sighing resignedly.

          “You try explaining that to Fudge.  I’m sure he will accept your excuses so long as you are there.  I don’t suppose I will receive the real answer later?”

          “The real answer my dear is not for me to tell.” Dumbledore replied mysteriously before smiling his most smiling smile, “Come on now this is a night for celebration and it is better to be late than never show up at all!” He moved between the two Professors, overlooking the amused smirk Snape gave in answer to McGonagall’s curiously hopeful look, and began ushering them up through the dungeons.

          Snape listened as McGonagall complained about the antics of Fred and George Weasley and had to suppress a smile of his own when he saw how Dumbledore was trying to remain disapproving, but kept flashing him grins when the witch was not looking.  Apparently the twins had charmed some of the appetizer platters to snap at people’s fingers when they went to select something and had been thoroughly dressed down by their mother in front of everyone.  Needless to say things remained quite peaceful after that, as peaceful as a victory party was going to get anyway, and not even the twins dared to do anything more while under the watchful eye of the formidable Molly Weasley.  ‘That woman should get an Order of Merlin just for putting up with those two!’ thought Snape. 

          His thoughts suddenly turned somber as he remembered everything his own mother had suffered through and put up with just to keep him safe and sane.  She was a woman who had passed her personal strength, courage and knowledge on to her son, shaping him into the wizard he was today and giving him the skills to survive in a world filled with darkness.  Snape knew his mother deserved her own Order of Merlin – simply for being his mother.   

          He glanced over at Dumbledore and found the older wizard staring at him with open pride and love – a look so reminiscent of his mother that Snape was stricken dumb by it.  Then Dumbledore winked and smiled before turning his attention back to the still ranting McGonagall.  When they approached the open doors of the Great Hall the witch calmed down slightly and with a final glance to make sure they were going to follow her, entered the Hall.  Dumbledore slowed slightly to give Snape one last reassuring look and inclined his head before disappearing into the crowd of jubilant witches and wizards.

          The Potions master knew at that moment that everything was going to be fine.  The future was suddenly looking a lot better and he could finally start enjoying life instead of despising it.

          ‘I survived Mama,’ Snape thought and hoped his mother’s soul could hear him, ‘and I’m moving on.’

          He straightened his shoulders, held his head up proudly and swept into the Great Hall, robes billowing behind him.

 

          *The End of The Strength of a Slytherin*

          *This trilogy will be continued in The Sorrows of a Slytherin*

 

*Attention Readers* - Hey I’ve got fanart!!  Drawn by the very awesome Atana, these pictures are definitely worth checking out.  You can find the link to her website on my biopage above.  Check out Severus and his Mama, little Sev with Tom and lots more from my other fanfics – The Price We Pay, First Signs and even the Sorrows of a Slytherin (which I haven’t even posted yet)!  She has other Harry Potter illustrations there and I highly recommend you take a look at them too!!  They are all simply fantastic and if you like my stories then you should hop on over to Atana’s site to put pictures to the words!          

100 House points go out to Zippy zany, Snapefan51 and Mormiel for noticing the reference to my fave Alan Rickman role (beside Snape) – the nasty Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.  In my trilogy Severus hails from the outskirts of the town of Nottingham (the town on his acceptance letter). *Grin* 

Reader Responses –

Zippy zany – The next part of this trilogy, ‘The Sorrows of a Slytherin’ is about Snape’s Hogwarts years.  I am working on the next chapter of the R rated ‘Price We Pay’ now, it should be up within a couple of weeks.  Thank you!

Kady Rilla Wholi – I’m planning on posting part 2 in mid/late March.  It’s still going through some plot rewrites and changes and I want to work on some of my other fics first.  So stick with me – it’ll be up eventually I promise!

ER – Thanks for the review, I hope you’ll stay tuned for the next parts!

Snapefan51 – I’m so glad I got the personality of a young boy down ok!  I wasn’t sure how accurate I was portraying a young Severus.  And don’t worry – I won’t abandon his Mama, his parents will be featured in the next part as well.  In fact his later Hogwarts years are shaped by what happens between his parents (just a little foreshadowing)  ;)

The-Sharon – Thanks for the review and the support!  I’m working to get the next part out soon so keep an eye for it!

Orientalis Draco – The Marauders will cause Sev some problems, but I won’t be focusing exclusively on them.  Instead I’m going to focus on character development and his interactions with other children/classmates and adults.  Stay tuned for more!

Rosaleen – I’m glad you liked the Sev-Albus scenes, they’re my fave to write!  Thanks!

Fanfiction fanatic – I want a monkey too now!  ;)  Thank you!

CuriousDreamWeaver – I think Sev is a cutie too!  Thank you for the review!

Silverfox1 – I thought a raven would be most appropriate for Sev as a familiar – I’m glad you agree!

Barbara Kennedy – Thank you.  The next part will be up in mid/late March so stick with me – it’ll be up eventually!

CNJ – Snape’s parents will be featured in the next part as well – he will be greatly influenced by what happens between them!  ;)

Athena Keating-Thomas – Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about the other version of ‘the Price We Pay’!  I’m working on the new chapter now to it should be up in a few weeks!  Thanks for sticking with me!

Lady Sev – Thank you, I’m glad you liked the scenes with Sev and his Mama!

Mormiel – I know, I know I just had to ask first!!  ;)  I don’t know how I’d fit a scene with Mercury and Mormiel into the next parts, but I’ll let my muse chew on it a bit and see what happens!  Thank you, as always, for the awesome reviews!  :)

Kraeg001 – Thanks for the reviews, I’m glad you’re enjoying this.  Keep an eye out for the next parts!

Thanks again to everyone!