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James Potter strode into the Potions classroom and snarled at the students.
“If you think yesterday was a bad day — think again!”
The bespectacled professor gazed around the room and sneered across at the son of one of his most hated ex-classmates. Seth Snape, may not have had his father’s nose, but he certainly did have his father’s eyes and greasy black hair. His nose resembled that of Lily Evans Snape.
The Dark Lord was on the rise again, and James was worried that his secrets would be revealed — as he had been the spy who got Snape and Lily killed. The only other person alive who could possibly figure this out was, thankfully, behind bars and probably insane.
“One hundred points from Slytherin for talking — Snape, Malfoy, and Granger.”
He smiled inwardly at the look of shock on Granger’s face. Then he added, “That’s one hundred points each!”
The whole class gasped. Professor Potter was mean to most houses, but he particularly disliked Slytherin students.
⸻
Headmistress McGonagall was on the warpath. She entered the staffroom and scrutinised the staff until she spotted the professor she wished to speak to.
“James, may I have a word, please?”
By the beady-eyed look and the pursed squint of McGonagall’s mouth, he knew he was in trouble.
Minerva popped up a silencing spell and tore into James as soon as he stepped inside the magical barrier.
“I know the last few years have been hard for you, James, but taking it out on Slytherin students is wrong. We’ve had words about this before. Seth Snape is not his father, Severus Snape. He is a student at this school and deserves to be treated fairly. To deduct over three hundred points for talking was unjust. I’ve reinstated two hundred and seventy points to Slytherin House. I deducted ten points from each student — the usual punishment for talking in class.”
James was annoyed at being caught but grinned inwardly — he had managed to get Lupin, the Muggle Studies professor, to assign them detention later in the week. He had a rather large vat of Flobberworms that needed filleting and dissection.
⸻
Seth leaned on his forearms and gazed across the Hogwarts grounds from the balustrade, high up in the clock tower. Hermione came up behind him and nudged his arm.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes,” he replied, though he knew she could tell he was lying.
“Here,” she said, offering him a small potion bottle. “Take this.”
“Thanks.” It was a pain potion.
Draco joined them, and together they discussed what to do.
“You know the late Headmaster was a git, don’t you?”
“Yes, Draco,” Hermione agreed. “He manipulated us all — until
Seth discovered that old diary of the Dark Lord’s.”
“I know that old bastard tried to manipulate me,” Seth said with a dark glare. “I fear he manipulated my father and mother too. That’s how they died.”
Seth rubbed at the mark on the side of his neck. Not many people even knew about the Z-shaped scar under all his long hair. As the adopted son of Lord and Lady Malfoy, Seth had been kept away from the press.
Hermione knew both boys well. Though she was Muggle-born, her great-grandmother had been a Squib. Abraxas Malfoy insisted that their Muggle neighbour was kin and allowed her to mix with Draco and Seth from a young age.
It was this trio who found the diary and realised its worth when they were barely twelve. They studied in the Hogwarts library — even sneaking into the Restricted Section.
“Not so blooming secret,” Hermione chuckled, having found the password in a book she’d been reading. Hogwarts: A History hadn’t been updated in generations, and her copy had the password written under the cover.
Once inside, they ensured the place was clear before practising how to Occlude.
They’d learned much about Tom Riddle — also known as Voldemort. The three Slytherins had worked it all out. They had already found and destroyed Helga Hufflepuff’s cup. They knew that Seth’s life was on the line.
⸻
Everyone in the magical world was braced for the next Wizarding War.
It never came. The predictions were wrong.
Instead, three students had managed to destroy all the Horcruxes. The final one would soon be taken care of one way or the other. Seth had tracked some mysterious goings on down in the Forbidden Forest. The trio — all teen virgins — were able to mix safely with the unicorn herd and learned of the strange creature that had killed one of them. Together, they trapped the creature, and Seth Snape finally rid himself of the final Horcrux.
The pile of dust at his feet appeared to scream silently before it was carried away by a magical wind. He sighed, exhausted, closing his eyes and clutching at his neck. Hermione and Draco rushed to him, concerned.
“Are you still in pain?” Hermione asked.
“Has it gone?” Draco enquired, waiting for his brother’s answer.
Seth’s eyes opened wide, sparkling — then he burst out laughing in relief. “It’s gone!” He lifted his hair. “See?”
Hermione hugged him, delighted. Draco clapped him on the back.
“Our father will be so happy,” he said.
“Thank goodness this is over,” sighed Hermione. “I kept having nightmares about camping in a forest with Professor Potter and that Gryffindor redhead, Weasley.”
“Well, Professor Potter’s in Azkaban, and Sirius Black — our cousin — is now free,” Draco said with a grin.
“Come on, you two,” Seth called, turning his back on the Forbidden Forest. “We’ve got the Leaving Feast to get ready for. Tomorrow, we go home.”
He took Hermione’s arm in his, while Draco took her other, and the three walked out of the forest and into the sunlight on Hogwarts grounds.
Suddenly, they stopped in their tracks and braced for trouble — in the form of Headmistress McGonagall.
“You three wee scallywags! You’ve been caught, and if you think—”
Seth stepped forward, grinning. He lifted his hair and revealed his neck — clear of the scar. Her face paled and her hand trembled as she reached out to touch the smooth skin.
Her whole demeanour changed.
“Oh my loon, come away,” she said, drawing Seth into a hug.
“Och, stop it, Auntie — I’m too old for hugs!”
“Ye’re never too auld for hugs, laddie.” Minerva waved the other two into a joint hug. “Did ye not ken I was lookin’ out fer ye — with the Time-Turner, the book, and the Invisibility Cloak…?”
⸻
As the Hogwarts Express arrived at King’s Cross Station in London, Hermione, Draco, and Seth spotted a man they’d only
ever seen in photos.
Seth headed straight to Sirius Black before acknowledging his adopted parents.
Hermione watched, hugging her granny close. Draco had been briefly hugged by both of his parents — in public — a first, but hopefully not the last.
Sirius greeted his godson with open arms. Seth walked into them, only vaguely remembering such embraces from childhood.
He knew he could never stop loving his adopted family — but this man was family too.
The three groups joined and left the station together, heading for Malfoy Manor for a family celebration.
“Slàinte!” cheered Minerva in Scots Gaelic. “To the war that never was.”
“To the lives not lost!” Lucius declared.
“To those we lost and still remember,” Sirius said, his voice cracking as he raised his glass for the third time.