Work Text:
Duo Serpentes
It had been barely half a year since Hogwarts - the historic, picturesque castle where young witches and wizards went to learn magic - had fallen. It had not felt like so much time had passed but the magical beings of the United Kingdom had still been able to fix most of the damage the battle had wrecked.
Being witches and wizards surely had helped.
Luckily, the centuries old castle had not lost its ancient magic because of the battle. Its ruins had successfully kept its charms and therefore, Hogwarts continued to put every visitor under its spell.
When our hero Harry James Potter took his first step into the rebuilt castle - that cold, wintery day - it really felt like he was finally home again. After the year on the run, he had missed Hogwarts dearly: The tricky steps, the moving stairs, the babbling portraits, the Great Hall with the bewitched ceiling. His dorm, his bed and the meals. His friends.
Today, he was at Hogwarts not to rebuild another classroom or staircase but to help clean up the dungeons. No one had set foot in there after the Great Battle and it was now absolutely necessary to clean up the messes that had been made by aurors and Death Eaters. They would hopefully make the dark caves liveable again for the next generation of Slytherins and their house teacher.
"They" meant Harry, Hermione and Minerva McGonagall, the only ones who had wanted to go down there. Most Death Eaters had been Slytherins and therefore society did not want to see anything slytherin nor help any Slytherin, nevermind seeing one.
Harry and Hermione had decided to come, probably out of pity - but masked with the want to see the castle as a whole thriving again.
They had arrived together and were now waiting for the old Deputy Headmistress that had led the school so well in absence of Headmaster Dumbledore in their fifth year.
"You know, we'll have to clean up Professor Snape's quarters as well," Hermione said, still using the honorific. She very likely expected him to refuse and throw a fit because of his childish grudge against the potions professor. Harry hadn't told anyone about Snape's memories. He could not bring it over him to tell everyone those intimate secrets, even though it would let the Professor’s doings shine in a different light.
"It's fine," Harry just shrugged, "He's dead anyways."
It hurt to see a war hero so hated and unappreciated. He did not want to imagine what Snape had gone through this whole time. Despite his death, the professor's trial was coming and Harry did want to tell everyone the truth to clear the dead man's name. The trial would decide about Snape's belongings, his house and his vaults - because there had been no testament - and his innocence. If he was deemed as guilty by the Wizengamot, then every object would fall into the Ministry's hands and he would be listed as the Dark Lord's closest man, as a spy for the Dark side, a traitor. If it was decided that he was not guilty his belongings would be considered as owned by the defence lawyer and his name would be cleared, so he would appear in the history books as a hidden hero in the Second Wizarding War.
Magical laws were just something else.
Hermione did not react to Harry's words and instead turned her body towards the right hallway, having heard Professor McGonagal's arriving by the sound of her shoes.
"Good morning, Harry, Hermione," the elderly woman greeted and came to a stop. After the battle, they had changed to a first name basis.
The two greeted back and then they made their way towards the dungeons.
"So, dears, what are your current plans?" asked Minerva after a few seconds of silence, "Will you return to Hogwarts for your final year or will you accept one of the many other opportunities that you have been given?"
Hermione opened her mouth, eagerly, "I will return to Hogwarts. I wish to have my N.E.W.T.s before taking a position in the Ministry."
McGonagall's face moved into something that faintly resembled a smile. It showed her approval of Hermione's choice.
She was biassed because Hermione had been an excellent student and she would always see her favourite's decisions as reasonable.
"And you, Harry?"
"I think I'll return, too. I don't know if I still wanna be an auror. The battle's been stressful enough."
It had not only been stressful. Since he had first come to Hogwarts, Harry had not had a calm minute and the memories he had made were often rough, full of blood and death. He had nightmares and panic attacks regularly. It was no fun to fight and it had changed his view on being an auror. Harry had started seeing a Mind Healer because of his fragile mental state but progress was slow and his fame was surely not helpful. Everywhere, everytime, everyone wanted him to talk about his "heroic life", his "genius battles" and his "dangerous missions". They needed him to remember every gory detail of the Great Battle for an interview, reporters could not stop asking about his apparent death - mind you: No one knew about the horcrux situation - and everyone expected him to become a great, well-known member of the wizarding society.
The three had made it to the dungeons and were standing in front of the Slytherin's dorms.
"I will take the dorms together with Hermione," Minerva said, "you, Harry, will take Professor Snape's quarters."
The hidden intention to make Harry come to terms with Snape and see the potions master from a different light was crystal clear and Harry had to suppress a grin.
He instead just nodded, "Where's the entry?"
If McGonagall was surprised by the reaction or lack thereof, she did not show it and simply pointed to a door close to the Slytherin dorm entry that Harry had not seen before.
"The password is "Salvete Serpente," she told him.
Snape's rooms were the opposite from what Harry would have expected. They were small with high bookshelves that were tightly filled. In every room sat a fireplace. It was cosy and Harry loved it from first glance. Weirdly, it was all cleaned up but he soon realised that it was a spell that kept everything in place.
He stood in the living room and let his eyes roam over the bookshelf on the left wall.
His eyes came to an abrupt halt when they read the words "The art of hiding objects".
Harry had never heard of an art about hiding things before. Curiously, he stepped closer and pulled the book with the curious name out. The movement set off a chain reaction and the shelf came forward - Harry had to jump backwards - and then split in the middle. The two half parted and gave a small door away. It was just like all the superhero movies where everyone seemed to have a secret weapon chamber behind a shelf. Harry stepped forward and touched the door's handle.
Then, he pulled.
The door did not open but a female voice spoke out of nothing,
"What is the password, dear?"
Harry frowned amused, then thought for a moment,
"Lily?"
"Wrong password."
What? "Lily" was the most logical answer. Snape had loved Lily and had even devoted his whole life to protect her son.
"Evans?"
Wrong.
"Potter?"
Wrong.
"James."
"Correct."
"Dumble- wait, what? For real?"
Silence.
Why the fuck would the password be "James"?
Snape had hated him.
Harry sighed, decided to not spend any thought on this matter because he was really curious about this secret door and just grabbed the handle again. This time, the door opened up.
Behind the door, there was a narrow room and when Harry stepped into it, the door closed behind him. Quickly, he turned around and tried to open it again but nothing happened. Harry tried to call the voice that had asked him for the password but no answer came.
No voice, just silence.
And darkness. The room did not have any windows nor lamps so Harry casted a lumos.
It took him a couple of minutes to orient himself. He turned around and then he walked straight into the wall because it all of a sudden seemed to be an open path.
Yeah no. No path, just a wall.
Nice.
Harry began to scan the wall in hope to find a handle or anything uneven.
Bingo!
There was a small gap in the wall and when he slipped his fingers into it and pulled, the wall gave away.
Suddenly, light fell into the room. In front of Harry was another small room with big windows to watch the fish of the Black Lake. An old desk sat in the middle with beautiful patterns carved into its legs. There was nothing on the desk though, only a few words had been cut into the wood:
"Si tu serpens fidei es, tam scis."
Harry was not an expert in Latin but as a wizard using Latin spells, he could surely translate it.
…
Or maybe not.
He had never learned any translation of any spell and therefore, Latin was a riddle for him.
Okay, perhaps not a riddle. He really did not want to think of Voldy right now.
Latin was just Latin. A foreign language. A damn foreign language.
Harry took a look around the room. There was nothing else. Not even a chair.
Well, at least there was still the book about hiding stuff in his hands. He carefully opened it and right on the first page were words engraved:
"Si tu serpens fidei es, tam scis.
"If you are a serpent of trust, then you know."
Thank you, book!
Snape really had made this a riddle.
…
Back to the translation.
Harry was sure, he was not a serpent. Last time he checked, he did not have scales or a poisonous bite.
He was not a Slytherin either, no matter what the Hat had said in his first year.
What was something that only Slytherins knew? Most Slytherins were purebloods. Was there any connection between an old desk and purebloods?
Harry knew that purebloods insisted on old traditions. Maybe, the desk was something like a safe. If it was so well hidden, then it had to bear a secret. He began searching for a drawer, a hole, something moveable in the desk but nothing was there. He casted a few opening spells and even tried a “reveal-your-secret”-curse.
Nothing.
Maybe Slytherins weren’t the key but real snakes?
Snakes had an excellent sense of smell, so hesitantly, Harry leaned forward until his nose nearly touched the dusty surface of the desk. He inhaled and promptly had to sneeze.
After his nose had relaxed again, he swept the dust away and smelled again. A soft scent of flowers seemed to appear in the air. Harry slowly followed the trace. He reached one of the desk's legs. Here, the smell was the strongest. The Potter softly grabbed the leg and pulled, just to see what would happen - and lo and behold! The desk moved and revealed a hatch in the floor.
Snape was really into this fucking detective stuff. First a hidden room, then a second hidden room, then a hidden hatch. Why? Just, why?
It was not like he couldn’t have hidden it with a few spells in a box.
Perhaps, this had been his intention. With knowledge that mostly humans would have - a.k.a. rooms behind shelves and secret door handles from movies - and most wizards would not, he could keep this hidden from the magical world.
The hatch was surprisingly and anticlimactically easy to open and it was not actually a hatch, just a wood covered space in the ground. Parchment rolls were laid there.
Harry took them and excitedly started reading the first one. (It had a big "1" drawn on its outside.)
Greetings, stranger.
I see you have found my hidden papers.
It may seem ridiculous to hide a few parchment rolls in such a consuming fashion but it was necessary for the protection of the following secrets.
It is not something world changing I’d say but judge yourself, foreigner.
I would not want anyone that is not dear to me to find this and I trust you will keep it secret unless you cannot.
I will not reveal my name and I am writing in this weirdly poetic style so no one who does not know me will guess that it is me if.
It is the year 1981, November 1st and I will never access this room again.
Now, go on, you dunderhead.
Cast any spell over the following parchment roles and it will reveal my past.
Live long,
prosper reader.
Harry stared at the paper. That was a different Snape. Maybe it was not Snape at all but then again, the date was telling enough.
One day after his parents’ death.
He took another roll and casted an alohomora.
It took a second but all of a sudden, his mind was pulled into the parchment and Harry found himself in a wagon.
The train to Hogwarts.
“Sev? Sev!” a high voice asked close to Harry’s ear. It was high and a little panicked. He blinked and turned his head. Words came out of his mouth that Harry would not have said,
“What is it, Lils?”
Oh! He was in Snape’s body. That’s why the voice had called him “Sev” and he had answered. No, not he had answered. Snape had.
Focus, Harry!
“Can’t we walk through the train a bit, please?” Lily begged, “I wanna get to know the other first years!”
Snape sighed but nodded, “Okay, why not.”
They got up and as they moved through the wobbling train, they collided with a young boy that suspiciously looked like Harry himself.
Dad?
James Potter himself stood there in full bloom and put on a frown, “Hey! Pay attention!”
“I’m sorry,” Lily immediately apologised.
She had always been too nice for her own good.
“It’s his fault, not yours, Lily,” Severus argued, "He did not watch where he was going."
James Potter rolled his eyes,
“It was clearly your fault, stupid.”
“Yah! It-”
“It doesn’t matter,” Lily stepped in, “I am Lily and this is Severus. We were just exploring the train because it's our first year. Is it yours too?”
So forgiving.
James nodded, “Yes. I’m James Potter. My parents have been at Hogwarts, too. We’re purebloods. What about you?”
Harry had never known that his father was such a… show-off. And since when did he care about blood?
“My parents don’t have any magical powers, sadly. I am the only one”, Lily answered, “but Severus’ mother is a witch, too!”
“Really?” James asked sceptically.
“Why would she lie?” Severus interrupted.
The Potter did not react verbally, just rolled his eyes again and turned on his heels to get back into his compartment.
“Rude,” Lily commented, “Come on, let’s go. There'll be nicer first years.”
Severus was not so sure about that.
Suddenly everything began to circle and the parchment threw Harry back into reality. He held his head and moaned, “Shit, what was that?”
Since when was his father such a jerk to his mother?
He had been mean to Snape, yes, but not to Lily.
Had she not been his crush since their first year?
Harry shook his head and grabbed the next roll.
This one showed Harry multiple memories.
How James had bullied Snape, how he had been rude to many classmates and how spoilt he was. With the years, James started to show interest in Lily and his hate for Snape began to grow because of his and Lily’s connection.
Slowly, his blood prejudice began to disappear.
Harry saw that Severus had not loved Lily like James had but rather like a brother would have. At the same time, there appeared more and more scenes of Snape observing James.
The next memory was even more surprising.
It showed Snape and Harry’s father at the Astronomy Tower.
“Why are you here, Snape?” James demanded. Not using the regular nickname “Snivellus”.
“Why are you here, Potter?” Snape lifted an eyebrow.
James sighed.
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“Me too.”
Civilised silence.
“I hate you.”
“I know, Potter.”
“You know why?”
“You like Lily. You think I take her away from you.”
“Hmm.”
“I don’t like her like that.”
“Sure.”
“I really mean it. I’m gay.”
“Wait, what?”
Wait, what?
“I think she likes you.”
“What the fuck, Snape. Why would you tell me that?”
“So you won’t stop asking her out?”
“That’s not what I meant… Really? She likes me?”
“Yep”, Snape sighed, “she’s head over heels, probably. I ain’t that good with feelings.
“So, why wouldn’t I tell you what?”
James shrugged, “That you’re gay. No one knows, so you’re probably not out of the closet.”
“I’m not, indeed.” Snape sighed again, “Look. I don’t like you. You’re a bully but… you’re not prejudiced”, a pause, “anymore and you’ll treat her well.”
“I can’t believe I am having this conversation with you,” James shook his head, “I ain't a bully, Snape. I just like pranks.”
“You are a bully.”
“Am not.”
“You curse the outsiders, so everyone can laugh at them. You know what that does to their already low self-esteem?” Snape seemed enraged.
Harry would have never thought to hear him speak like that. So supportive of equality.
“It’s nothing," James said, "They should not take it to heart.”
“I can show you. What it is like, I mean”, Snape offered readily, “You know legilimency, right?”
“Yes”, James hesitated.
“Then, do it if you think your pranks are harmless”, Snape demanded.
James casted the spell and Harry was sucked into Snape’s mind.
Severus was on his way to the Great Hall when Potter and Black got in his way.
“Na, Snivellus,” Black teased, “What’s up?"
“Probably nothing," James answered in Severus' stead.
They laughed.
“You never gon’ get a girl, Snivvy,” Potter added.
It hurt. The nickname was mean. He was not crying all the time and he did have a love life.
They just wanted to annoy him.
Now, Black took out a piece of candy.
“Here, Snivvy. Take this as consolation.”
“No, I’m not gonna eat something from your hands.”
“Oh, you can eat it yourself. I mean, if you can, baby.”
Snape bit his lip in anger.
“No.”
He wanted to walk past them but Potter grabbed him and Black pressed the candy into his mouth. Severus tried to spit it out but it stuck on his teeth.
The pair took off laughing.
Snape fumed and ran after them into the Great Hall. The two had already sat down at the Gryffindor table. Severus wanted to rush towards them and beat the shit out of them but then he noticed the laughs that were slowly rising in the hall.
Students pointed at him, with grins in their faces, whispering with each other.
Snape froze.
No, no. Fuck, NO!
The damn candy. Severus turned and stormed out of the large room, as fast as possible to the bathrooms.
And then he stood there in front of the mirrors.
What had they done with him?
His skin was littered with green hairs and his own hair had a slimy texture, dripping with something that felt like snot.
Snape took out his wand and tried a few counter spells. Of course, none of them worked. It was a time limited prank.
He suppressed a sob and locked himself into one of the stalls.
Now, everyone would make fun of him again for weeks.
He hated his looks anyways, why did Black and Potter have to make it even worse and show him to the whole school like this?
His fellow Slytherins would respect him even less because he did not defend himself. Not, that they had respected him in the first place.
Snape realised that he was tugging his hair when he suddenly had slimy hands. And because he still had that extra hair on his hands, the slime would be stuck there for a while.
He slowly spiralled.
He should have just stayed home.
Nails dug into his palms.
He should have never even had magic. Then none of this would have happened.
His nails drew blood.
He should have never been born. Then he wouldn’t have such unloving, uncaring caregivers.
Parents.
Severus looked at his blood-covered hands and took a shaky breath.
He needed to be here. At Hogwarts. For Lily.
She was his only purpose.
And James.
James was… no matter how bad he was, another reason to stay. Severus’ stupid heart just saw something in him.
The caring attitude with younger students.
The clever remarks in class.
The passion for just fun.
The love in his eyes when he was with Black, Lupin and Pettigrew.
Severus wanted love, too.
The world began to spin and James and Harry were thrown out of Severus’ memories.
“What the fuck?” James spit out.
“You,” Severus stuttered, “you weren't m-meant to s-see that.”
“You like me?” asked James incredulously.
“I-I… No!”
“Why those thoughts then?”
“I… You like Lily, Lily likes you and you hate me. I should hate you. It’s fucking stupid.”
James made a disbelieving noise, “It fucking is.”
“Can… Can we just ignore that? Just, you saw the first part, right?”
“... Yes, I guess,” James bit his lower lip, “I didn’t realise… It's just fun for me. I didn’t know that it would affect people that way.”
“Your stupid friend literally tried to kill me last year,” Severus snorted.
“See, I’m sorry for what Sirius did but he never intended to hurt you,” James argued.
“Potter… He told me to come to the Shrieking Hat, knowing the werewolf was there.”
James sighed, annoyed, “Okay, I get it, maybe Sirius’ went a bit overboard but nothing happened and I did not know about his plans.”
A second of silence before Snape said quietly.
“Jasmine killed herself because of you.”
“Who?”
Snape’s jaw hardened, “Jasmine Muqoli? The seventh year Ravenclaw?”
“You are joking, right?”
“Do I look like I am?”
“But… what did I do?”
“You literally took all her underwear and hung it up in every classroom. She was made fun of the whole year and everyone only talked about her underwear and her breast size with her. She had anorexia, Potter.”
James was silent. He stared at Severus who stared back.
Harry wanted to cry. What had his father done? Why was he such a messed up human?
Then he was back. This time without a headache.
He took the next roll.
James and Snape were now a year older. They had met multiple times on the Astronomy Tower, talking about nothing.
James still bullied him everyday, poisoning his food, putting needles into his chairs, glueing stickers with mean notes onto his back. That he had killed Jasmine, had not bothered him for too long because in the end, no one could really pinpoint that it was his fault. James was simply an asshole.
Just not here on the tower. Here, James was nice.
Meanwhile, Severus was slowly being recruited for the Death Eaters. All Slytherins had been pressured into taking the Dark Mark and soon, it would be time for Snape himself. Severus liked the idea of a more peaceful world. After the Dark Lord would have taken over, pure-bloods and half-bloods would reign the UK and slowly even the earth. They would be considered worthier than muggleborns and they would take over the Muggle world as well to end the cruelties. The Death Eaters would stop Muggles from ever hurting a wizard or witch again. He would be safe from his father and no one would ever bully him again.
(If Snape had known…)
Even though he wanted to become an auror and outrightly hated blood-purists because of Lily, James did not care about Severus' stand in the war. And Severus did not care about James'.
It was fucked up.
Severus liked James more and more the longer they talked and James seemed to warm up to him. He touched Severus more often, he talked to him differently.
Severus knew that it was wrong. They should have not been doing this. James should not have betrayed Lily, even if they were not together yet and Severus should not have liked the boy that hated him. He should not have hurt Lily's trust like that.
But it was like an addiction.
Soon, they kissed for the first time.
James' lips were rough and thin but warm and he tasted good.
Severus' lips were soft and his teeth crooked but he was passionate.
They kissed for hours and then went back to their old behaviour.
James hurting Severus and then loving him the same night.
It went on like this until the incident Harry had seen a few years ago.
James hurt Severus more than ever before.
He broke his friendship with Lily and showed him half naked to the whole school.
James broke Severus.
He did not only break his heart but his mind, too, as he loved him the same night like nothing had happened.
The following night, Severus became a Death Eater, crushing Lily's last hopes and breaking up any lasting bond to her or James.
He completely shut the memories out.
The last parchment roll was littered with blood and the memories were tinted crimson as Harry dove into them.
Lily received baby Harry. As the news came around, Severus visited the Potters in a desperate attempt to talk to Lily. A last hope to see her because Voldemort would get them.
She was not there.
James was.
They greeted each other like they had done on the Astronomy Tower, years before.
Severus tried to leave to stop his heart from loving James. Every effort was in vain.
James pulled him in like he did when they were kids and they quickly fell back into their old pattern. They met up every night, loving each other before one would die.
James was destroying Severus, and maybe, Severus was destroying James, too.
Eventually, James' death ripped a hole into Severus' heart and shut his feelings out. His old hate took over, now that James could not love him. (Could not manipulate him.)
Harry was his outlet.
Because of James, Snape became a bad, vile teacher. In a way, he thought that hurting Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and all muggleborns would take revenge on James. James' friends' children would hurt the same way he did. He thought he'd find resolution but who does?
Revenge is a bitch.
Loving and hating James made Severus a bully, made him a lover, made him a sinner, made him a hero.
There was a letter left in the hatch. Harry read.
Dear Severus,
I hate you with all my heart and I know that you know that too.
But you also know that I love you. I can't stop loving you, even though it's killing you. Me. Us.
I feel like dying, Voldemort's going to get us any second.
Your fucking "Dark Lord".
We would have worked, you know. If you would not have become a Death Eater.
(If you had not bullied me, James. If you had not loved Lily.)
Please, take care of Harry.
My hate will always overshadow my love. I hate you because Lily loves you.
Yeah, she still does. I despise it.
But I love you because you are amazing. You are funny in a way that actually makes me laugh more than pranks. You are intelligent in every matter, you were the best tutor.
And you are Severus. You are my friend.
James
……………………………………………………………………………………
The same year, Harry was Snape’s defence lawyer in his trial. To the general dismay of the public, the Chosen One had not decided to do so to talk about all the flaws his teacher had had but rather to actually defend him. He had picked certain scenes from Severus’ memories that seemed appropriate and did not reveal the Professor’s love for Lily or James.
He showed Snape’s conversations with Dumbledore, how Snape had sworn to protect Harry and how he had lived as a double spy.
The memories made Snape no war hero with the public still being deterred by his wrong-doings as a Death Eater but it cleared his name since Severus Snape had done good for Harry Potter.
“Mr. Harry James Potter, you are here today to defend the defendant Mr. Severus Snape. Is that correct?”
“Yes, Minister.”
“You have decided to make this trial a public event. Is that correct?”
“Yes, Minister… um, why are you asking me questions? I am not taking the stand.”
“Mr. Potter, all Death Eaters have been accused of crimes I myself have to question because they are closely related to the well-being of our community. Therefore, I am the plaintiff in all those cases. You are the only witness and the defendant. That is why I am to question you.”
“Alright, Minister. I have some… memories from Mr. Snape and I wish to show them.
“Since I am under oath, there is no reason to accuse me of faking these memories. Not that I'd be… capable.”
“All right, Mr. Potter. You may start.”
"Thank you, Minister. If you have not known, Mr. James Potter, my father, had saved Mr. Snape's life during their time at Hogwarts and Mr. Snape therefore felt like he owned a life debt to Mr. Potter. After becoming a Death Eater, he realised that he would not want to fight on the Dark side but rather wanted to choose the right path to better his guilty conscience.
"Mr. Dumbledore was willing to let Mr. Snape become a spy by oath. He also made him swear to protect my - Harry James Potter's life to clear his life debt with Mr. Potter. I will show you the memories."
"As you have seen, Mr. Snape should be considered innocent because of the evidence I presented. In the name of the defendant I plead not guilty."
"Dear Wizengamot. Please take your vote. Each member who pleads guilty, please raise your left arm. Each member who pleads not guilty, please raise your right arm. Each member who will not plead, please raise both arms.
"The Wizengamot has pleaded: Mr. Severus Snape is not guilty of his crimes and will not face any charges. All belongings will be considered as Mr. Potter's property. Thank you. The meeting is cancelled. Please leave the hall."
"Minister, can I say something?"
"Alright, Harry. Everyone? Please wait a second."
"Thank you.
"Dear witches and wizards. I want you to know how thankful I am that you cleared Severus' name. He and I could have been far closer and I regret our lack of closeness. You know I did not reveal even a third of this man's secrets. But you also know that he was a hero. A hero in disguise. Please remember Severus Snape and his doings for us.
Thank you, Severus."