Chapter 29: Revealing Things Unseen

Lucius' Study, Malfoy Manor, Wizarding World...

After another long and counter-productive day behind his desk at the Ministry of Magic offices, Governor Lucius made his way home. A split second of apparation and he was within the confines of his study. He sighed pleasantly at the shedding of stressful Q&A and began to relax in the serene air of all that was Malfoy elegance. The handsome albino wizard sat down in his rather plush leather chair behind his grand oak desk. He had only settled into comfort for a fraction of a second before the urge to grab his wand it him. As fast as his Slytherin instinct had been it was not fast enough. He found himself confined to his chair by a body binding charm.

"Expelliamus!" came a familiar baritone drawl.

Lucius struggled against the restraints and rolled his eyes.

"Really Severus...must be so barbaric?" he asked in a bored tone.

Severus Snape stepped out of the shadows and glared at the blond wizard before him.

"Lucius...Lucius..." he said in an emotionless tone. "What have I told you about being so lax in peace time."

"As I've said before I was merely interested in having a little fun." replied the senior Malfoy.

"You've been quite busy as of late." said Snape in his Slytherin Head of House tone. "Polyjuice potion?"

Lucius kept his bored expression.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." he replied evenly.

Snape glared at him.

"DO NOT LIE TO ME!" he replied suddenly irate.

Lucius sighed. He had been caught with red handed as they say.

"Might I ask what made you come to the conclusion that I am the one to question?" he asked.

"Sasha Thoreau." replied Snape watching for any sign of deception on the senior Malfoy's part.

"Sasha Thoreau?" asked Lucius confused.

"After narrowing down a list of possible leads pertaining to one Sebastian Prince's existence...I found that it would have been quite impossible for me to have a son of that age with that name." replied Snape.

"I wasn't aware that you believed you had a son Severus." replied Lucius honestly.

Snape narrowed his eyes at Governor Malfoy.

"I take it you've been to see Narcissa." said Lucius in a bored manner.

"Of course." replied Snape emotionless. "Being that she is the only other witch I have engaged left alive...it was quite necessary wouldn't you agree?"

Lucius conceded the point.

"Quite true." he said. "So...what does this mysterious none existent son have to do with me?"

Snape watched Lucius for several minutes. The Governor was quite an accomplished Slytherin, never ready to admit to anything unless you could accurately place blame at his feet.

"Your son does not know you quite as well as he may think Lucius." said Snape with his dark eyes gleaming.

"Ah...Draco." said Lucius. "Am I to assume you have no qualms about picking a young wizard's brain when trying to acquire the answers you so valiantly seek?"

"When that boy is my godson and related to you I have no qualms at all." replied Snape. "Now...Lucius...why were you using my form for a Polyjuice potion?"

Lucius sighed. He had known this day was coming. Severus Snape could be as tenacious as a rabid dog when he set his sights on something. The senior Malfoy did not doubt his friend out figure this much out and be on his doorstep.

"Alright Severus." he said seemingly exhausted. "I tire of this game."

Snape raised an eyebrow as he studied his long time friend.

"In my desk is a small phial containing all the answers that you seek." said Lucius in a bored tone. "Take them and be done with this wild goose chase...but I warn you old friend...you will not like what you see."

Snape considered this for a moment. Lucius had no doubt meant well when he warned him. If this had been a simple ploy he would not have bothered and awaited the outcome just the same.

"I'll take my chances." replied Snape.

He reached inside the desk and pulled a small red phial from it. The Potions Professor eyed it rather curiously and stuffed it into his pocket. He waved his wand and headed toward the floo. Lucius watched as his friend grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the flames. They became emerald and he called out his destination.

"Severus." said Lucius sounding impatient. "The restraints."

Snape lazily waved his wand freeing Lucius and gave him one last glare.

"Narcissa is expecting you for dinner at some point." said Lucius as if the previous conversation had not happened.

"Tell her when I have the time." replied Snape in a casual manner.

"Will do." replied Lucius.

"And Lucius..." said Snape just before he stepped into the floo.

"Yes?" asked the senior Malfoy.

"If you ever use my form when consuming Polyjuice potion again I'll make sure you and the dark lord get reacquainted." replied Snape with rage behind his obsidian eyes.

"Duly noted." replied Lucius. "Anything else?"

"I await your report on LeStrange's activities as of late." replied Snape. "It's clear he's waiting to play his hand after your stunt caused McNair's imprisonment."

Lucius smiled at this.

"All in a day's work...as the muggles say." he replied casually. "Do take care Severus."

Snape glared at Lucius one last time and stepped through the floo. Once the potions master was gone Lucius got out of his seat and made his way over to the crystal that he kept his rum in. He poured himself a glass of the darkest liquid in his collection and sighed bringing the glass up to his lips.

"Ah Severus...are definitely not going to like what you see." he said taking a sip. "But it will be quite interesting to see how it all unfolds."

The senior Malfoy smirked rather wickedly and continued to sip his drink.

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Severus Snape's Quarters, Slytherin Dungeons, Hogwarts...

Severus Snape stepped through to his rooms back at Hogwarts with the red phial in tow. He made his way over toward his own private desk and sat down. He would finally get the answers he had been seeking. He cleared his desk with wandless magic and pulled the phial from his pocket. He considered Lucius' warning as he stared down at the red phial rolling it causally in his hands. This little thing contained all the answers he had been seeking since his return. From what the senior Malfoy had told him it even contained information about the woman that haunted his dreams. It had been two weeks since he came to in that shack and apparently months had gone by without his notice.

Snape uncorked the phial and noted that there was swirling silver inside. Evidence of raw memories. He had not understood why Lucius saw fit to take his memories out of his head when he had been unconscious but he was more than a little disturbed by it. Lucius' warning had told him that he would not like what he saw and it meant that was quite serious.

The Potions Professor steeled himself and took out his wand. If this was going to be unpleasant then he might as well get this over with. He lifted his want taping it to the edge of the phial and took a deep breath to relax himself. He needed his mind clear if he was going to make sense of anything that this phial contained and access it. While it would have been much faster to use a pensive, he had not wanted anyone to walk in and least of all alter his memories when he wasn't around. One could claim he was being a touch paranoid but with Dumbledore around there was a such thing as "necessary caution."

"Memoria restitutionem." said Snape invoking the incantation.

The tip of his wand lit up with a off white glow and he watched as the contents of the red phial floated freely in silvery streams before him. He took another breath as they shot at him one at a time passing though his temple in rapid succession. The Potions Professor got to his feet purely out of instinct and stumbled as he made his way toward his bedroom. He had not made it passed the front room by the time the first memory overtook him. It had been quite strong and the pressure from it's weight made him collapse.

{Unconscious, Professor Severus Snape found himself sitting in Dumbledore's office. He watched as the old wizard put the sorting hat onto his head and address him as Mr. Prince. He noted the suspicious way Dumbledore acted even then. Later he found himself looking down into the amber eyes of Hermione Granger as she scrambled to her feet.

The interaction between the two of them had been quite amusing. The heat in her amber eyes had been enticing to say the least. So...He was Sebastian Prince and no doubt Dumbledore had been behind this. The skill and discipline behind the magic used could have only been pulled off by him.

The memory flashed forward to showing him the battles with Hermione Granger and her nearly stripping him of his attire at the lake. Harry Potter had showed up just in time...he would not have been pleased to have history repeat itself. Severus saw how close he had gotten to Draco Malfoy and that the junior Malfoy had indeed been intimate with Pansy Parkinson. His mother was going to have a conniption fit.

Snape saw himself at Hogsmeade defending The Golden Trio and Draco Malfoy from McNair. He had purchased a potions book for Hermione Granger that had cost 80 galleons. He watched her from the Slytherin table like some love struck puppy. It pleased him to know that she had been pleased with the gift. He began to appreciate her in aspects that had never occurred to him in all the years he had known her as her Professor.

The Memories continued and he saw himself speaking to the werewolf Remus Lupin quite often. He relieved charms class as well as Potions and Transfigurations. He suppose he had been lucky not to have taken Sybil's Class. That woman was more Nutty than a fruitcake but she had a kind heart. They had been friends, if you can call it that for quite some time. Her near murder at the hands of the dark lord made her retire from teaching and public life.

Granger had turned him into a frog and he chased her toward the whomping willow. He ended up in the infirmary and Granger was there. Snape noted that she had been there for him quite a lot.

Snape had been utterly repulsed by the concern and fairness Harry Potter had shown him despite not knowing much about him. No doubt the boy sought to make amends for misjudging him during the war. The little idiot. His relationship with Miss Granger had taken an unexpected turn after he saved Neville Longbottom from yet another catastrophe.

He saw his talks with Dumbledore and then rage filled him when he saw the face of Lady Theodora Hamershal...MOTHER!" His mother was in on it too. No doubt she came a calling hoping to use his new found state to worm her way back into his life. He wouldn't have put it passed her. Harry and Draco seemed to be the most protective of him. They managed to save him quite a few times.

Hermione had been fiercely protective as well. She had gone out of her way to grid him of the boggart version of the dark lord in Lupin's class. He had seen her fears and even laughed as Draco's boggart turned into a hippogriff and he made it a chicken dinner. Like father like son.

It had been all together strange when Severus found himself snogging Hermione Granger within the halls of Hogwarts like some randy sixth year. He couldn't seem to keep his hands off her and she didn't put up much of a fight. Oh no...no no no...

He found himself alone with Hermione as he took her virginity within the confines of the abandoned part of the castle.

WHAT!"

The Potions Professor had not wanted to see anything more but he was locked in his memories.

"You're not going to like what you see."

Damn Lucius and his always being right. Severus Snape watched as he engaged Hermione Granger quite a bit over course of their short association. She was really quite beautiful and the way she seemed to have only eyes for him brought back every aspect of emotion he had felt for her then. Hermione.

The memories continued on including the battle with McNair where Lucius showed up as him. He told the students to return to Hogwarts in a manner similar to what he would have done and they obeyed even himself. He had almost lost the witch because of McNair's provocation. He had only felt this way about one witch before and it was unsettling to see history repeat itself. Hermione had been nothing like Lily. She wasn't ashamed to be near him and even when he showed signs of having darkness in him she only defended him more.

How can she love me?

How can I not love her?

He witnessed the final moments he spent with her. She had been so afraid that she was going to lose him.

{Know that you will always have my heart."} he had told her.

Snape couldn't help but feel weak when he saw the sadness in her amber eyes. It had been her the entire time. The beautiful woman from his dreams that seemed to elude him night after night. It was clear that his body had craved her even when his mind had no understanding of why. His heart reached out to her in desperation only to be left without connection due to his inability to remember.

"Hermione." He said reaching out to the young Gryffindor witch that wanted so desperately to run over to him. She faded from view as he followed his mother, Dumbledore and what looked like a poly juiced Lucius out in to the corridors... Hermione's face was the last image that came to him before his world slipped into darkness.}

Snape opened his eyes feeling the intense pain of loss plague him. His rage battled against his building anguish. He had fallen in love with his student. How the hell was he ever going to look her in the eyes after all of this? How the hell was she going to react to the knowledge that she had given herself to her Potions Professor?

They were going to answer for this, the whole lot of them. Albus, Minerva, Lucius, Poppy, Eileen, and most of all Potter.

Severus got to his feet as the rage continued to course through him. He now knew that He had been Sebastian Prince and that he had a relationship with Hermione Granger that progressed a lot more than Minerva or anyone outside of Potter had known about. There was no way he could pretend that none of that had ever happened. The potions Professor looked down at the hand that he had known Hermione's ring had been on. He summoned his wand and tapped it to his finger.

"Omnia revelare." he said looking down where the ring should be.

In a matter of seconds the serpent ring appeared. It had all been true then. Hermione and he had been involved and she had given him this ring. Snape shook his head. A lot of wizards and witches had a lot that they were going to answer for but Severus Snape was nothing if not a patient man. He would begin his course of revenge very slowly. The first name on his hit list had been none other than Harry James Potter. He had been almost sure that The-Boy-Who-Lived-To-Be-A-Pain-In-The-Arse was in on it from the very beginning.