Snape

Hogwarts, Aug. 13 th

Arriving just outside the gates of Hogwarts, Severus Snape looked around expectantly for the carriage that was supposed to take him up to the school. Biting back a scowl at Hagrid's incompetence, he cast a cooling charm on himself to make the wait in the summer heat more tolerable.

Nearly ten minutes later, Severus finally saw the carriage as it crested the hill and came into view of the Hogwarts gates. He did his best to ignore the two Thestrals that were pulling the object; the reptilian-like horses were always an unsettling sight. Opening the carriage door, Snape raised an eyebrow when he saw that the carriage was not as empty as he expected.

"Good evening Severus," Flitwick said pleasantly. "Hagrid mentioned he was to send this carriage for you, and I thought it might be nice to get out of the castle for a while."

Snape looked down at Flitwick with something between indifference and annoyance, but finally nodded his head affirmatively. "Indeed," he said before climbing inside the small compartment.

As the Thestrals began to turn the carriage around, Filius' smile faltered somewhat. "So, I understand you've been giving young Mr. Potter Occlumency lessons, Severus. How is young Harry progressing in the art?"

Fighting his own curiosity about the Charms teacher's motivation for the line of questioning, Snape reached out with Legilimency. He managed to sense the slightest bit of apprehension from Flitwick before the emotions abruptly vanished.

"I have never had great skill with Occlumency, Severus." Filius' tone had grown dark as he purposefully avoided Snape's eyes. "But while it has been a while since I've been on the dueling circuit, I can assure you that I remember perfectly well how to defend against Legilimency."

Snape cursed his rash decision – he should have known Flitwick would have been cognizant of Occlumency, if not versed in it. Legilimency was fairly common amongst world class duelists, and as a world champion, Filius would have had to learn how to overcome it. "If you know I am instructing Mr. Potter, then you should also know Albus has deemed it important to keep the lessons both private and secret. The Potters have many enemies, and with Pettegrew on the loose..."

"I am merely curious about how my old student is doing Severus," Filius looked indignant that he would do anything untoward with the information. "I was quite surprised when Minerva told me about Harry's interest in Occlumency. It's a very rare magic. I presume he is progressing well?"

After a moment, Severus said, "He shows a definite aptitude for the art."

Flitwick leaned back into the carriage chair and sighed. "He was quite a student. Has Minerva shown you his publication in Transfiguration Today?"

"I have not had the pleasure of reading the article." Snape paused before adding, "Though Lily did give me the highlights. She also informed me about his Potions project. Polyjuice as a second year is an impressive brew."

Nodding in agreement, Flitwick said, "Yes yes, I quite agree. It's definitely a N.E.W.T level potion. But I am curious Severus, has Harry ever mentioned anything about his time at Hogwarts to you?"

"I am not there to socialize with Mr. Potter, Filius," Snape said curtly as he mentally calculated how much longer it would take to arrive at the castle.

"Yes, of course not, I only meant that..." Filius dropped his head. "While Minerva might say it is not my fault, I am somewhat ashamed of the role I played in the events that led to Harry leaving Hogwarts. Severus, you've been inside his mind. Tell me, does he hold me responsible for the unpleasantness of his first term?"

"Even if I knew the answer to that question, I would not tell you," Snape said bluntly. "What I see in Mr. Potter's mind is not your concern." Filius blinked owlishly, and, reluctantly, nodded his head in understanding.

"However," Snape added, "I will say that every major memory I've seen of Mr. Potter has been at Durmstrang."

Flitwick blinked. "Surely not. I might not be the most able practitioner of Occlumency, but I know the theory quite well. When Mr. Potter had just started learning Occlumency, you should have been drawn to the memories that held the most emotion tied to them. Surely, his leaving of Hogwarts would have been one of them."

Severus glanced out the carriage window and was relieved to see them nearing the castle. "All the memories I saw were of Mr. Potter at Durmstrang. I cannot be certain, but, from his progress, it would not surprise me if Mr Potter had managed to subconsciously occlude his feelings towards Hogwarts." As soon as the carriage stopped, Snape opened the door. "If you are so concerned with Mr. Potter's opinion of you Filius, I suggest that you write to him and find out for yourself. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have duties to perform."

Snape barely registered Flitiwick's reply as he entered the castle and quickly navigated the dungeon corridors until he reached his office. Locking the door behind him as he entered, Snape sat down behind his desk and removed a small journal from inside a drawer. Flipping to the front of the journal, Severus looked at the spell chain Harry had designed as a first year.

Next to Harry's chain, Severus drew another spell chain from memory. The second chain had never been published, and he could count on one hand the number of people alive or out of prison that knew of it. Slowly, Snape drew a line between the two chains.

It was eerie.

It was disturbing.

It was a mystery, and Severus Snape hated mysteries.

Removing the copy of Transfiguration Today Lily had sent him, Snape quickly flipped to the photograph of Harry and his Transfiguration professor. Ignoring the two men at the center of the photo, Snape watched as a very familiar girl moved into the corner of the photo for the slightest moment.

A freezing charm shot from his wand, causing the picture to become still.

Leaning in closer to get a better look at the black-haired girl, Snape knew she was the missing link. Potter had mentioned that his friend had helped him with his spell chain, and Snape knew from the boy's memories that she was the most likely candidate.

"Calypso," Snape said, testing out the name, "just who exactly are you?"