Path to Victory – A Severus Snape Story
AN: The premise is simple. Snape snapped after the...
AN: The premise is simple. Snape snapped after the...
Path to Victory – A Severus Snape Story (Worm/HP)
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Chapter 1.01
Path to Victory – A Severus Snape Story
AN: The premise is simple. Snape snapped after the werewolf incident and triggered with path to victory, aka Contessa's game breaking shard. It's not very serious but I don't think I'll let this turn to crack. Either way; I'll keep at this until I'm bored or Snape becomes God-King of the Universe. Whichever happens first. =)
Really; don't take this too seriously.
Chapter 1.01
Everyone daydreams on occasion. Errant thoughts flicker through your mind conjuring up pleasant fantasies and magnificent dreams of the future. For most people this is just a way to escape the drudgery of their mundane lives.
For me it's not.
I can't explain the how, or why of it, but something happened to me. Something miraculous that made my daydreams more potent. I only have to think of a query and the answer presents itself in my mind's eye.
Well, not exactly. The steps to make those daydreams a reality pop up in the back of my mind. The first time it happened I followed the steps out of a sense of fatalism. I can honestly say that moment was the worst in my admittedly terrible life. I didn't think I had anything to lose.
It appeared I had everything to gain.
I had found myself in the Headmaster of Hogwarts' office. The imposing geriatric wizard looked down upon me with his usual benign contempt as he attempted to explain to me why my suffering was meaningless. As if I cared about his concern for the beast that nearly mauled me. I could have taken it, the man's contempt for Slytherins wasn't anything new to me. What I couldn't take was his flowery praise for Potter's self serving heroics.
Something snapped within me. Right then and there I felt woozy and suddenly I was staring at the vastness of two great wyrms doing battle with each other. Or perhaps they were merely entangling and intertwining with a purpose I couldn't grasp. Either way it was grand and in that moment I knew something life altering had occurred even it didn't know what exactly.
"Are you alright, my boy?"
The old man's words shook me from my reverie. I looked straight at his deep blue eyes and all I could think of was a singular question. Why? Why couldn't he see the evil in these bloody 'marauders'? It wasn't until the maelstrom in my mind settled and the question came to forefront.
How can I make him see their depravity?
Immediately a crystal clear picture burned itself into my mind. Instructions of a handful of steps whispered into my ears from a source I couldn't perceive. The voice wanted me to say something. One particular line and I couldn't find a single reason within me to deny it.
I looked right at the man and bit out, "On average, sir, how often do you think your students end up in Madam Pomfrey's ward?"
I saw the confusion on the Headmaster's face mirrored in the expressions of Black and Potter. The silence stretched out for a few seconds before the old man finally answered.
"I couldn't rightly say, Mr. Snape."
Oh, so I was Mr. Snape now?
The next step called for me to stand up, grab the edges of the massive oaken desk, and say my next sentence.
"Would you venture a guess, sir? Would you think it was higher or lower than a hundred and two times?"
The greybeard frowned momentarily before replying, "I would certainly hope it's much lower than that, Mr. Snape."
I flashed my sightly yellow toothed grin at the man and bit out, "It's fourteen. Tell me, sir. What depravity haunts your castle that would allow a student to get hurt badly enough to warrant a hundred and two separate stays under Madam Pomfrey's care?"
Black said something but I couldn't make it out over the sound of my frantic heartbeats. Perhaps the voice was insulating me from his vapid nonsense so I could focus on my real target. The only man with real power in the so called hallowed halls.
The voice next called for me to interrupt the Headmaster in the middle of his reply.
"I can say young Mr. Snape that-."
I was instructed to lean forward over the desk and say, "What makes you think I fear an expulsion?"
The old man frowned again but I battered onward, "Especially considering my very first act afterward would be paying a visit to the Daily Prophet. My friend, I'm sure you remember him, the Malfoy heir through his father has the ear of their editor. I wonder what they'd have to say about your utter incompetence."
If I was in control of myself I would have been mortified. Dumbledore was far from incompetent, I didn't know why the voice made me say that but then again...I had nothing to lose. Lily didn't want anything to with me anymore and my only friends wouldn't lift a finger to help me if it came down to it.
I might as well see this through to the end.
Potter started to open his mouth, presumable to spew out his verbal diarrhea, but Dumbledore waved him down.
"I know you must under a great amount of stress but I must-."
Another interruption.
"One hundred and two visits to the hospital wing and not a single disciplinary act from you. This doesn't even account for your heinous gall in trying to blackmail said injured student, a student who you were entrusted to keep safe, into keeping your secrets. Tell me, sir, did you even have permission from the Board of Governors to allow a monster sanctuary in Hogwarts?"
The Headmaster's frown turned slightly harsher, "What exactly are you implying here, Mr. Snape?"
"Interesting response, sir. Is blackmail suddenly not an acceptable recourse? I assure you, sir. I've taken your wise lessons quite to heart."
Wonder over wonder both Black and Potter stared the Headmaster down. Obviously they weren't on my side but they couldn't help but wonder where this would go. The voice instructed me to remain as still as possible and wait for precisely forty seven seconds.
I could feel sweat drops work their way from my forehead to my eyebrows downward to my slightly hooked nose. Nothing else happened. The Headmaster sat still as a statue for a time before he finally spoke up again.
"Then what do you suggest, Mr. Snape?"
The voice told me to sit back down in my chair, look down to my lap, and summon a few tears. It wasn't difficult, I had plenty to be sad about, and within just a few seconds I was finished with the task.
I looked back up at the man and said, "I'm done, sir. Completely and utterly done. You will keep these two and their hangers on away from me." I fell silent for a heart beat or two and continued on, "If they point their wands at me, for whatever reason, I will kill them."
I almost couldn't keep the shock out of my face and the Headmaster grew angry but the voice spurred me on.
"I have nothing left to lose. If throwing myself on the non-existent mercy of the Ministry is what it takes to stop this farce I will do it. I can take a lot of suffering, more than you could possibly conceive off from your perch of unassailable power, but not from them. Never again from them!"
I deliberately didn't look at the two miscreants and kept my furious gaze at the old man. My tears still flowed freely and for the first time I could see the man's expression growing softer. The silence dragged on but eventually he broke it.
The old wizard seemed to deflate in front of my eyes when he finally sighed and said, "I see I have been greatly remiss, my dear boy. As much as it pains me to admit I see now that this wasn't merely a case of schoolboy mischief."
Oh, gods.
It's working.
It's really really working.
The voice counseled silence and I followed it eagerly.
"I will speak at length with these young Gryffindors, and you have my word my dear boy, that they will not cause you any more strife."
I nearly screamed my delight out into the world and only the voice's insistence at silence kept me quiet.
"While I can't and will not retroactively punish them, I will see to their future good conduct."
The man's eyes narrowed when he focused solely on my own and I could feel his gaze burning into my mind. For the briefest moment I could understand why the Dark Lord feared this man. The palpable aura of indomitable willpower hung cloaked all around him.
"Of course, this will also apply to you. I will not have you causing trouble yourself. Do you understand?"
I nodded so fast and hard my head almost fell off.
"Very well. You are free to go, Mr. Snape."
The path lit up brightly with it's last instruction for this altercation.
It ordered me to whisper softly, "Thank you, sir."
I saw the old man nod and made my way out of the office. Just when I reached the door the Headmaster's voice came a last time.
"I expect you in here next Sunday morning at nine sharp, Mr. Snape."
I was confused about what he could possibly want from me when he continued, "Ostensibly for a detention. I trust you can keep to that ruse?"
Once again I nodded my assent and headed out of the office.
It worked!
It actually worked!
What else could this voice do for me?
I searched inward for the voice and asked it a question.
'How do I make Lily my friend again?"
AN: The premise is simple. Snape snapped after the werewolf incident and triggered with path to victory, aka Contessa's game breaking shard. It's not very serious but I don't think I'll let this turn to crack. Either way; I'll keep at this until I'm bored or Snape becomes God-King of the Universe. Whichever happens first. =)
Really; don't take this too seriously.
Chapter 1.01
Everyone daydreams on occasion. Errant thoughts flicker through your mind conjuring up pleasant fantasies and magnificent dreams of the future. For most people this is just a way to escape the drudgery of their mundane lives.
For me it's not.
I can't explain the how, or why of it, but something happened to me. Something miraculous that made my daydreams more potent. I only have to think of a query and the answer presents itself in my mind's eye.
Well, not exactly. The steps to make those daydreams a reality pop up in the back of my mind. The first time it happened I followed the steps out of a sense of fatalism. I can honestly say that moment was the worst in my admittedly terrible life. I didn't think I had anything to lose.
It appeared I had everything to gain.
I had found myself in the Headmaster of Hogwarts' office. The imposing geriatric wizard looked down upon me with his usual benign contempt as he attempted to explain to me why my suffering was meaningless. As if I cared about his concern for the beast that nearly mauled me. I could have taken it, the man's contempt for Slytherins wasn't anything new to me. What I couldn't take was his flowery praise for Potter's self serving heroics.
Something snapped within me. Right then and there I felt woozy and suddenly I was staring at the vastness of two great wyrms doing battle with each other. Or perhaps they were merely entangling and intertwining with a purpose I couldn't grasp. Either way it was grand and in that moment I knew something life altering had occurred even it didn't know what exactly.
"Are you alright, my boy?"
The old man's words shook me from my reverie. I looked straight at his deep blue eyes and all I could think of was a singular question. Why? Why couldn't he see the evil in these bloody 'marauders'? It wasn't until the maelstrom in my mind settled and the question came to forefront.
How can I make him see their depravity?
Immediately a crystal clear picture burned itself into my mind. Instructions of a handful of steps whispered into my ears from a source I couldn't perceive. The voice wanted me to say something. One particular line and I couldn't find a single reason within me to deny it.
I looked right at the man and bit out, "On average, sir, how often do you think your students end up in Madam Pomfrey's ward?"
I saw the confusion on the Headmaster's face mirrored in the expressions of Black and Potter. The silence stretched out for a few seconds before the old man finally answered.
"I couldn't rightly say, Mr. Snape."
Oh, so I was Mr. Snape now?
The next step called for me to stand up, grab the edges of the massive oaken desk, and say my next sentence.
"Would you venture a guess, sir? Would you think it was higher or lower than a hundred and two times?"
The greybeard frowned momentarily before replying, "I would certainly hope it's much lower than that, Mr. Snape."
I flashed my sightly yellow toothed grin at the man and bit out, "It's fourteen. Tell me, sir. What depravity haunts your castle that would allow a student to get hurt badly enough to warrant a hundred and two separate stays under Madam Pomfrey's care?"
Black said something but I couldn't make it out over the sound of my frantic heartbeats. Perhaps the voice was insulating me from his vapid nonsense so I could focus on my real target. The only man with real power in the so called hallowed halls.
The voice next called for me to interrupt the Headmaster in the middle of his reply.
"I can say young Mr. Snape that-."
I was instructed to lean forward over the desk and say, "What makes you think I fear an expulsion?"
The old man frowned again but I battered onward, "Especially considering my very first act afterward would be paying a visit to the Daily Prophet. My friend, I'm sure you remember him, the Malfoy heir through his father has the ear of their editor. I wonder what they'd have to say about your utter incompetence."
If I was in control of myself I would have been mortified. Dumbledore was far from incompetent, I didn't know why the voice made me say that but then again...I had nothing to lose. Lily didn't want anything to with me anymore and my only friends wouldn't lift a finger to help me if it came down to it.
I might as well see this through to the end.
Potter started to open his mouth, presumable to spew out his verbal diarrhea, but Dumbledore waved him down.
"I know you must under a great amount of stress but I must-."
Another interruption.
"One hundred and two visits to the hospital wing and not a single disciplinary act from you. This doesn't even account for your heinous gall in trying to blackmail said injured student, a student who you were entrusted to keep safe, into keeping your secrets. Tell me, sir, did you even have permission from the Board of Governors to allow a monster sanctuary in Hogwarts?"
The Headmaster's frown turned slightly harsher, "What exactly are you implying here, Mr. Snape?"
"Interesting response, sir. Is blackmail suddenly not an acceptable recourse? I assure you, sir. I've taken your wise lessons quite to heart."
Wonder over wonder both Black and Potter stared the Headmaster down. Obviously they weren't on my side but they couldn't help but wonder where this would go. The voice instructed me to remain as still as possible and wait for precisely forty seven seconds.
I could feel sweat drops work their way from my forehead to my eyebrows downward to my slightly hooked nose. Nothing else happened. The Headmaster sat still as a statue for a time before he finally spoke up again.
"Then what do you suggest, Mr. Snape?"
The voice told me to sit back down in my chair, look down to my lap, and summon a few tears. It wasn't difficult, I had plenty to be sad about, and within just a few seconds I was finished with the task.
I looked back up at the man and said, "I'm done, sir. Completely and utterly done. You will keep these two and their hangers on away from me." I fell silent for a heart beat or two and continued on, "If they point their wands at me, for whatever reason, I will kill them."
I almost couldn't keep the shock out of my face and the Headmaster grew angry but the voice spurred me on.
"I have nothing left to lose. If throwing myself on the non-existent mercy of the Ministry is what it takes to stop this farce I will do it. I can take a lot of suffering, more than you could possibly conceive off from your perch of unassailable power, but not from them. Never again from them!"
I deliberately didn't look at the two miscreants and kept my furious gaze at the old man. My tears still flowed freely and for the first time I could see the man's expression growing softer. The silence dragged on but eventually he broke it.
The old wizard seemed to deflate in front of my eyes when he finally sighed and said, "I see I have been greatly remiss, my dear boy. As much as it pains me to admit I see now that this wasn't merely a case of schoolboy mischief."
Oh, gods.
It's working.
It's really really working.
The voice counseled silence and I followed it eagerly.
"I will speak at length with these young Gryffindors, and you have my word my dear boy, that they will not cause you any more strife."
I nearly screamed my delight out into the world and only the voice's insistence at silence kept me quiet.
"While I can't and will not retroactively punish them, I will see to their future good conduct."
The man's eyes narrowed when he focused solely on my own and I could feel his gaze burning into my mind. For the briefest moment I could understand why the Dark Lord feared this man. The palpable aura of indomitable willpower hung cloaked all around him.
"Of course, this will also apply to you. I will not have you causing trouble yourself. Do you understand?"
I nodded so fast and hard my head almost fell off.
"Very well. You are free to go, Mr. Snape."
The path lit up brightly with it's last instruction for this altercation.
It ordered me to whisper softly, "Thank you, sir."
I saw the old man nod and made my way out of the office. Just when I reached the door the Headmaster's voice came a last time.
"I expect you in here next Sunday morning at nine sharp, Mr. Snape."
I was confused about what he could possibly want from me when he continued, "Ostensibly for a detention. I trust you can keep to that ruse?"
Once again I nodded my assent and headed out of the office.
It worked!
It actually worked!
What else could this voice do for me?
I searched inward for the voice and asked it a question.
'How do I make Lily my friend again?"
Last edited:
watched. nice start. i shall continue to observe with great anticipation
cupcakeviolater
Verified Cupcake
- Location
- USA
"power corrupts. absolute power corrupts absolutely." guess who just got absolute power?
Lake Jesus
Aquatic Messiah
- Location
- Ohio
I like that you're keeping his goals small to start with. He's not immediately asking how to be the richest and most powerful wizard around.
It's a good first chapter.
It's a good first chapter.
Trier
Trying fate
- Location
- Digitally existent
I was frequently getting confused over which Snape that was: the younger or the older. Definitely the younger, but I just just couldn't remember anything about young Snape, Dumbledore and the chamber of secrets together in any of the books.
Really good start. :+1:
Really good start. :+1:
- Location
- In the depts of despair.
Actually I would love to see that, but with PtV being a Monkey Paw.
Feng Lengshun
Z-Program Researcher
- Location
- Indonesia
Well, *grabs a seat*, this is ought to be good.
Chapter 1.02
Chapter 1.02
I lay down on my bed in the Slytherin fifth year dorms daydreaming. I had asked the voice question after question and a knot settled in my stomach. When I found out I could ask the voice multiple questions that could be encompassed into a single path I tore into it with a single minded focus.
I threw any manner of commands and queries at it to see what stuck and it led me some painful conclusions.
Most paths weren't very long. A generic request for more magical might was a mere four hundred and twelve steps. The incredibly dangerous and almost hubris-like question of becoming the Dark Lord's equal was by far the largest. Twenty four thousand four hundred and twelve steps.
Which brought me to the knot in my stomach.
When I asked the voice for a path to making Lily be my friend again I was left with a bitter tasting ash in the back of my throat. It would take six thousand three hundred and nineteen steps to let her forgive me completely. It turned out that I could make the entirety of the fifth year Slytherin girls swoon at my feet sooner than it would take to get Lily to accept me in her life again. I briefly wondered why
What was so heinous about me she couldn't accept?
I tried whittling down the number of steps by adding or removing clauses to the question. I tried; 'How do I make Lily more friendly to me' and the immediate response was a full thousand steps cut out from the process. I tried adding a clause; 'How do I make Lily like me as much as I like her?' and my heart nearly gave out.
Forty nine thousand six hundred and eleven steps.
I almost because violently ill when the implications hit me. It was more difficult for me to become Lily's equal than the Dark Lord's. I fully admit I had my issues. I'm not as arrogant as the pompous Potter to think other wise. I come from a dirt poor back ground, my social graces are nearly non-existent and the only path to power I saw was something that offended my oldest friend to the very core.
Perhaps that was my problem?
Maybe I did have a little in common with Potter, just a smidgen mind you, in the sense that I believe myself in the right. In the sense that I shouldn't have to change to accommodate others. Perhaps I was deluding myself into thinking Lily should simply accept me the way I am.
Maybe I watched one too many Saturday morning feel good shows on ITV. The real world obviously doesn't work like this.
I took a deep breath and resolved to work on myself before doing anything else. I need to improve myself, substantially, and then....and only then will I ask the voice again how many steps it would take for Lily to be mine again.
No, that wasn't it.
I'd make myself better to the point where Lily would come to me.
I smiled at nothing in particular as I considered my options. I didn't want to start off by trying to change my disposition , the way I thought or any of my priorities. The worry in the back of my mind was that losing myself might not be worth it. Instead I settled on improving my outward issues first. I'd see what came out of it later.
'How do I improve my appearance?'
Thirty two steps.
That seemed rather doable and since today was a Saturday, and I am me, my homework was done and I had the day free. The first instruction bade me to make my way to the common room in the dungeons. When I walked into the common area of the Slytherin dorm the voice urged me towards Narcissa Black. A sixth year girl who I might have shared four conversations with over the past five years I spent at this school.
Non of them were very unpleasant but each left me slightly shaken. The girl had something about her that made me feel ever so slightly inadequate. Regardless, the voice bade to walk to her and walk up to her I did.
I followed the steps to the letter, came to halt slightly to the right of her – even though I couldn't conceive of a reason why-, and smiled at her. It took a moment before she deigned to take notice of me. I know she saw me, her friend fell silent momentarily when I made my way over to them, but I didn't mind. The voice hasn't let me down yet.
"Yes, Severus was it?"
You know damn well who I am. I tutor your obnoxious little shit of a cousin. We both know he wouldn't pass a single potions exam without my skills but sure...let's pretend you don't know me.
I smiled even wider when I said, "Indeed." I fell silent for precisely seven seconds before continuing, "I like your hair."
A single perfectly manicured eyebrow rose up as the blond girl took in the question. The silence stretched on and on while I strained to keep my smile plastered over my face. Eventually the girl finally spoke up.
"Thank you, Severus."
Whispers in the back of mine spoke the next step of the path I found myself threading and I faithfully adhered to it.
"I don't like my hair. Could you help me make it better?"
Oh god.
I sounded like a complete nitwit. How could she possibly be swayed by such a blithe and ill conceived question. I was almost lost in the horror of my preposterous situation when she interrupted my musings. The girl stood up and cleared her throat.
"Well? Turn around and give us a spin, Severus."
I felt the eyes of the entire gaggle of sixth year girls attention burning through me, straight down into my soul. If I wasn't in grips of the path I would have been mortified to be seen modeling for them. I smoothly arced around once, twice and on Narcissa's insistence, another last time.
"Hmm, what you think Evelyn? Essence of lavender and a handful of beauty charms should do it, if I'm not misjudging the situation."
Her dark haired companion, Evelyn Mulciber, a distant cousin to the Mulciber in my year – and honestly quite a bit more appealing than him-, nodded firmly and shared her words of wisdom.
"Well have to see it thoroughly washed first, of course, before we can properly ascertain it's state."
Narcissa seemed to agree with her friends judgments when she said, "Quite right you are. Well, then Severus." The blond girl stuck her wand into the air and wordlessly summoned a small pink box.
She opened the box, rooted around in it for a moment, and withdrew a small container from it. She extended it to me with a wide smile and with the words on her lips, "I'm gladdened to see you taking care of yourself again, Severus. Lucius was most put out with your...lethargic outlook for the past few months."
I reached out as the path instructed me to grab the container but she held it out of reach.
"Tell me, Severus, if you will. Has some other, more worthy lady, perhaps caught your eye?"
I didn't flinch at the allusion and firmly kept my smile up. Even without the voice I could tell this was her price. Nothing happened down in these dungeons for free but as long as the voice guided me I did not mind. I didn't care for anyone in particular but the voice had an answer ready.
"Nobody in particular but I was of mind to accept Professor Slughorn's invitation, for once. I felt I shouldn't do so unaccompanied by anyone. It would be...unseemly."
The girl's smile widened considerable and I might even have thought had it sincere.
"I can't say I know what has gotten in to you, Severus, but I believe I'm starting to see the potential Lucius always speaks so highly of."
Really?
I would have thought the man was just stringing me along but for these purposes it wasn't important. I executed the next step on the path and almost imperceptibly bowed towards the girl.
"Most kind of you, Narcissa."
She finally handed over her little container with a few grooming instructions I took the heart. I deposited the little flask into one of the many pockets in our uniforms, and thanked the girl.
"You're quite welcome, Severus."
Now, onward to the bathrooms. My path is clear.
I lay down on my bed in the Slytherin fifth year dorms daydreaming. I had asked the voice question after question and a knot settled in my stomach. When I found out I could ask the voice multiple questions that could be encompassed into a single path I tore into it with a single minded focus.
I threw any manner of commands and queries at it to see what stuck and it led me some painful conclusions.
Most paths weren't very long. A generic request for more magical might was a mere four hundred and twelve steps. The incredibly dangerous and almost hubris-like question of becoming the Dark Lord's equal was by far the largest. Twenty four thousand four hundred and twelve steps.
Which brought me to the knot in my stomach.
When I asked the voice for a path to making Lily be my friend again I was left with a bitter tasting ash in the back of my throat. It would take six thousand three hundred and nineteen steps to let her forgive me completely. It turned out that I could make the entirety of the fifth year Slytherin girls swoon at my feet sooner than it would take to get Lily to accept me in her life again. I briefly wondered why
What was so heinous about me she couldn't accept?
I tried whittling down the number of steps by adding or removing clauses to the question. I tried; 'How do I make Lily more friendly to me' and the immediate response was a full thousand steps cut out from the process. I tried adding a clause; 'How do I make Lily like me as much as I like her?' and my heart nearly gave out.
Forty nine thousand six hundred and eleven steps.
I almost because violently ill when the implications hit me. It was more difficult for me to become Lily's equal than the Dark Lord's. I fully admit I had my issues. I'm not as arrogant as the pompous Potter to think other wise. I come from a dirt poor back ground, my social graces are nearly non-existent and the only path to power I saw was something that offended my oldest friend to the very core.
Perhaps that was my problem?
Maybe I did have a little in common with Potter, just a smidgen mind you, in the sense that I believe myself in the right. In the sense that I shouldn't have to change to accommodate others. Perhaps I was deluding myself into thinking Lily should simply accept me the way I am.
Maybe I watched one too many Saturday morning feel good shows on ITV. The real world obviously doesn't work like this.
I took a deep breath and resolved to work on myself before doing anything else. I need to improve myself, substantially, and then....and only then will I ask the voice again how many steps it would take for Lily to be mine again.
No, that wasn't it.
I'd make myself better to the point where Lily would come to me.
I smiled at nothing in particular as I considered my options. I didn't want to start off by trying to change my disposition , the way I thought or any of my priorities. The worry in the back of my mind was that losing myself might not be worth it. Instead I settled on improving my outward issues first. I'd see what came out of it later.
'How do I improve my appearance?'
Thirty two steps.
That seemed rather doable and since today was a Saturday, and I am me, my homework was done and I had the day free. The first instruction bade me to make my way to the common room in the dungeons. When I walked into the common area of the Slytherin dorm the voice urged me towards Narcissa Black. A sixth year girl who I might have shared four conversations with over the past five years I spent at this school.
Non of them were very unpleasant but each left me slightly shaken. The girl had something about her that made me feel ever so slightly inadequate. Regardless, the voice bade to walk to her and walk up to her I did.
I followed the steps to the letter, came to halt slightly to the right of her – even though I couldn't conceive of a reason why-, and smiled at her. It took a moment before she deigned to take notice of me. I know she saw me, her friend fell silent momentarily when I made my way over to them, but I didn't mind. The voice hasn't let me down yet.
"Yes, Severus was it?"
You know damn well who I am. I tutor your obnoxious little shit of a cousin. We both know he wouldn't pass a single potions exam without my skills but sure...let's pretend you don't know me.
I smiled even wider when I said, "Indeed." I fell silent for precisely seven seconds before continuing, "I like your hair."
A single perfectly manicured eyebrow rose up as the blond girl took in the question. The silence stretched on and on while I strained to keep my smile plastered over my face. Eventually the girl finally spoke up.
"Thank you, Severus."
Whispers in the back of mine spoke the next step of the path I found myself threading and I faithfully adhered to it.
"I don't like my hair. Could you help me make it better?"
Oh god.
I sounded like a complete nitwit. How could she possibly be swayed by such a blithe and ill conceived question. I was almost lost in the horror of my preposterous situation when she interrupted my musings. The girl stood up and cleared her throat.
"Well? Turn around and give us a spin, Severus."
I felt the eyes of the entire gaggle of sixth year girls attention burning through me, straight down into my soul. If I wasn't in grips of the path I would have been mortified to be seen modeling for them. I smoothly arced around once, twice and on Narcissa's insistence, another last time.
"Hmm, what you think Evelyn? Essence of lavender and a handful of beauty charms should do it, if I'm not misjudging the situation."
Her dark haired companion, Evelyn Mulciber, a distant cousin to the Mulciber in my year – and honestly quite a bit more appealing than him-, nodded firmly and shared her words of wisdom.
"Well have to see it thoroughly washed first, of course, before we can properly ascertain it's state."
Narcissa seemed to agree with her friends judgments when she said, "Quite right you are. Well, then Severus." The blond girl stuck her wand into the air and wordlessly summoned a small pink box.
She opened the box, rooted around in it for a moment, and withdrew a small container from it. She extended it to me with a wide smile and with the words on her lips, "I'm gladdened to see you taking care of yourself again, Severus. Lucius was most put out with your...lethargic outlook for the past few months."
I reached out as the path instructed me to grab the container but she held it out of reach.
"Tell me, Severus, if you will. Has some other, more worthy lady, perhaps caught your eye?"
I didn't flinch at the allusion and firmly kept my smile up. Even without the voice I could tell this was her price. Nothing happened down in these dungeons for free but as long as the voice guided me I did not mind. I didn't care for anyone in particular but the voice had an answer ready.
"Nobody in particular but I was of mind to accept Professor Slughorn's invitation, for once. I felt I shouldn't do so unaccompanied by anyone. It would be...unseemly."
The girl's smile widened considerable and I might even have thought had it sincere.
"I can't say I know what has gotten in to you, Severus, but I believe I'm starting to see the potential Lucius always speaks so highly of."
Really?
I would have thought the man was just stringing me along but for these purposes it wasn't important. I executed the next step on the path and almost imperceptibly bowed towards the girl.
"Most kind of you, Narcissa."
She finally handed over her little container with a few grooming instructions I took the heart. I deposited the little flask into one of the many pockets in our uniforms, and thanked the girl.
"You're quite welcome, Severus."
Now, onward to the bathrooms. My path is clear.
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Dark Ness
Rises Where Silence Dies
- Location
- The Primordial Soup
What? When Shape was in school, Dippet was Headmaster, and the Dark Lords, any of them, never feared him.
Dippet was Headmaster when Tom Riddle attended Hogwarts. By the time of the Marauders, Dumbledore was the Headmaster.
Lol, it's easier for Snape to become the dark lord equal than make lily forgive him.
Making lily liking him as much as he likes her? astronomical. No wonder Severus got destroyed by the humble bat.
Making lily liking him as much as he likes her? astronomical. No wonder Severus got destroyed by the humble bat.
B_mod
Nrvscrwthishisnameis
- Location
- That one made up country from South Park
Nice one! I just hope that you will not turn it in godlike!Snape by the end of fifth chapter...
Also want to remind you that while PtV will show you the path to your goal it will not show you "the best" path. Sometimes it could work like a monkey's paw.
And it will lead to the victory only as long, as Severus are followig the steps - like for example one of the steps in "Path to Lily" could be apparating in London and killing random person. And no explanation why that step needed. Would Snape do it? And if he wouldn't the rest of the Path might as well be useless!
And the ultimate danger - when Snape will stop using the Path and Path will start using the Snape...
Would be nice to see how his goals change with characted development. In the end he might even not want to be with Lily anymore! That would've been nice...
Also want to remind you that while PtV will show you the path to your goal it will not show you "the best" path. Sometimes it could work like a monkey's paw.
And it will lead to the victory only as long, as Severus are followig the steps - like for example one of the steps in "Path to Lily" could be apparating in London and killing random person. And no explanation why that step needed. Would Snape do it? And if he wouldn't the rest of the Path might as well be useless!
And the ultimate danger - when Snape will stop using the Path and Path will start using the Snape...
Would be nice to see how his goals change with characted development. In the end he might even not want to be with Lily anymore! That would've been nice...
- Location
- Poland
The path isn't actively malicious, it's just inhuman in it's thinking, which means that yes it can be stupid or hurtful sometimes, but it will do what it's supposed to do. It can be wielded correctly, it's just that the right questions have to be asked.
Chapter 1.03
Chapter 1.03
I found myself in front of the mirror in the bathroom in my own dorm and desperately tried to find a difference with my hair. Keeping Narcissa's tips in mind I'd washed it over, and over, for a good long while but I couldn't quite tell if it became any less slick. I shrugged and decided to simply put my faith in the path.
Once I applied the goop the blond sixth year had given me it suddenly became clear. I'd never have an eye for aesthetics but even I could appreciate the smoothness of my hairdo. I tied it up in a pony tail and followed the next steps on my preordained quest. The voice wanted me to slam my face into a wall. My eyes bulged out in shock but after a brief moments consideration I went for it.
-Thud. Thud.-
Ignoring the pain wasn't hard, I had plenty practice, I followed the instructions back to the mirror and stared at my handiwork. Almost absentmindedly I swished and flicked my wand around. Spells I was sure I never learned flowed out of it without any issue whatsoever. The implications were staggering. I watched the effect of the magic with a keen eye and before my very gaze I saw my crooked nose straightening out.
A few more beautification, or at least that what I presumed the spells were, later and I could have looked at a double of my father. Not the way he is now, of course. Years of back breaking labor, the inexorable march of time, and the harsh consequences of alcoholic overindulgence had caused him to wither away.
No, I looked like he did in the old pictures my mother kept in her drawers. The pictures that his parents, my grandparents, took just before he went off to fight in the war. The great war. The war, which he claimed, that separated the boys from the men. I didn't put much stock in his words but I could appreciate the sentiment. Without meaning to I found myself smiling at my reflection.
One of the spells must have cleaned up my teeth properly because the faint yellow was replaced by glittering white teeth and my smile was almost blinding. I didn't think I was a particularly vain person, or even cared about my appearance, but I could certainly grow used to this.
With this current subsection of the path taken care of the whispers led me out to the castle proper. I made my way through the common room yet another, flashed my newly bright smile at Narcissa on a whim, and took in her faintly amused smile. I could hear the titters of her vapid friends but they didn't touch me.
Not today.
Maybe not ever anymore.
With a completely uncharacteristic smile on my face I stepped out of the entrance to the dungeons and headed out to the nearest stairs. My mind was racing a thousand miles an hour as I trusted the path to see me to the next location. The implications I considered earlier were still scintillating and I could barely contain my eagerness in testing their limitations.
Before I knew it I found myself on the seventh floor of Hogwarts and was slightly curious about the latest steps on the path. It bade me to softly whisper 'Lost and Found Room' thrice as I crossed the area in front of the painting of Barnabus the Befuddled Knight. I would have thought that nothing would surprise me anymore but when a door suddenly appeared on the wall across from the painting I had to frown.
Hogwarts was strange. I knew this. Staircases shifted on arbitrary whims, entire hallways occasionally lead you to strange places, but I had never heard of doors suddenly appearing. I opened the door and my jaw nearly fell to the floor as I took in the sight. Stacks and stacks of stuff filled the room to the walls. It was vast and with a single glance I could already tell the room was filled with riches.
Other people may regard this as trash but someone like me. For someone who was dirt poor, no shoes poor I believe the correct term was, this was nearing heaven. The voice told me to make way to the center of the maze of goods and pick up a old ruffled sack. I upended it immediately and it's contents spilled out all over the ground. Completely in tune with the path I bent over and grabbed a set of uniforms made out of acromentula silk.
The enchantments on it seemed to be unraveled but a few twitches from my wand took care of that. I nearly ripped off my own garments in my haste to try on the expensive robes.
They felt just like they looked. Utterly luxurious.
I was still lost in my admiration for the find when I whipped out my wand again and saw it twitch in the patterns for a summoning spell. From everywhere in the room small shiny things raced towards me. Just in time I pulled up the sack and caught the items with it. My eyes once again nearly popped out of my head when I noticed them for the pieces of jewelry they were.
Nothing I would wear myself but valuable non the less. Still, I checked the path, and breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't call me to gaudy myself up. One takes their blessings where they can. I caught my reflection in a dusty mirror and I felt yet another unbidden smile erupt.
Current path complete.
My appearance was, by any metric you could conceive of, simply better. The path delivered exactly what I wanted it to and I had to conclude it knew best. The endless list of attaining Lily's friendship on equal grounds still loomed large but I pushed it back. It was simply too depressing to let intrude right now. Instead I asked it another fairly straightforward question.
'How do I become a better wizard?'
Immediately hundreds of steps presented themselves and I let the path carry me where it may. There was still a faint worry in the back of my mind, which is I why I decided to keep my questions low key, but this couldn't be bad. Right?
Absentmindedly I walked and walked.
Before long I came across a group of third year Slytherins cornering a scared Hufflepuff. My instructions were clear. A quick 'Protego', a whispered banishing spell or two, and an 'Incarcerous' to end it. The Slytherins looked at me in dismay and more than a little bit of wariness. The Hufflepuff on the other hand ran out from their middle and hugged my leg.
The little midget couldn't have been much older than eleven and through her incomprehensible babble I could only grasp one thing. She wanted to go back to her friends but she lost them.
So much for Hufflepuff's sticking together. The path ordered me to kneel down next to the girl, wipe off her teas, and smile widely at her. I wasn't sure whether this was to comfort her or how this could possible make me a better wizard but I wasn't complaining. Not after the way the whispers proved themselves.
I kept up my smile and followed next set of instructions, "It's alright, sweet heart. I'll take you to your dorms. I'm sure you'll find your friends there. Is that alright?"
The saccharine sound of my voice almost startled me. I didn't know I could make those inflections..
Her sniffles had almost dried up by then but my attention was taken up by the next steps. I turned to the group, found that the girl still hadn't let go of my arm, and calm stated my concerns.
"Shame on you lot. We aren't Gryffindors."
I released the group from my bindings and braced myself for their vitriol. I wasn't worried about them, well not them exactly, but among them was a Dagworth, a Nott and a pudgy little Greengrass. If they were of a mind to...they might write their parents. I didn't think they could cause me much trouble but then again. When have things ever just worked out for me?
Instead their reaction almost shook me to my core.
The little Nott boy walked up to me and in a tiny voice said, "We're sorry, sir. Could...could you teach us how you did that?"
The voice took over and I said, "That depends. Will you be using those skills to bully defenseless little Hufflepuffs?"
His tiny neck must be sore from the rapid shaking he did.
"No, no we were just..I mean..." He trailed off for a moment, looked behind at his compatriots and seemingly came to a conclusion, "No, we won't. Isn't that right, guys?"
Almost as one they all agreed with him.
"Very well, I'll come find you Sunday afternoon. Make sure your homework is done before then."
I barely heard their hasty agreement before they all whisked off to somewhere. I looked down at the little Hufflepuff girl still clinging to me, sighed, and resigned myself to taking her to her dorms.
"What's your name, little girl?"
She seemingly got herself under control and managed to whisper, "Selena Wentforth, and what's yours?"
I rolled me eyes and replied, "Severus. Severus Snape."
The tiny Hufflepuff nodded firmly and said, "I like that. It sounds...strong."
I'd waste time trying to figure out what she meant but apparently the path agreed with me. It was just the inane mutterings of a tiny person.
"Will you teach me too?"
I resisting groaning as I felt my free time for the foreseeable future dry up before my eyes.
"Of course, sweet heart."
Oh god, again that saccharine voice. This path better be worth it.
I found myself in front of the mirror in the bathroom in my own dorm and desperately tried to find a difference with my hair. Keeping Narcissa's tips in mind I'd washed it over, and over, for a good long while but I couldn't quite tell if it became any less slick. I shrugged and decided to simply put my faith in the path.
Once I applied the goop the blond sixth year had given me it suddenly became clear. I'd never have an eye for aesthetics but even I could appreciate the smoothness of my hairdo. I tied it up in a pony tail and followed the next steps on my preordained quest. The voice wanted me to slam my face into a wall. My eyes bulged out in shock but after a brief moments consideration I went for it.
-Thud. Thud.-
Ignoring the pain wasn't hard, I had plenty practice, I followed the instructions back to the mirror and stared at my handiwork. Almost absentmindedly I swished and flicked my wand around. Spells I was sure I never learned flowed out of it without any issue whatsoever. The implications were staggering. I watched the effect of the magic with a keen eye and before my very gaze I saw my crooked nose straightening out.
A few more beautification, or at least that what I presumed the spells were, later and I could have looked at a double of my father. Not the way he is now, of course. Years of back breaking labor, the inexorable march of time, and the harsh consequences of alcoholic overindulgence had caused him to wither away.
No, I looked like he did in the old pictures my mother kept in her drawers. The pictures that his parents, my grandparents, took just before he went off to fight in the war. The great war. The war, which he claimed, that separated the boys from the men. I didn't put much stock in his words but I could appreciate the sentiment. Without meaning to I found myself smiling at my reflection.
One of the spells must have cleaned up my teeth properly because the faint yellow was replaced by glittering white teeth and my smile was almost blinding. I didn't think I was a particularly vain person, or even cared about my appearance, but I could certainly grow used to this.
With this current subsection of the path taken care of the whispers led me out to the castle proper. I made my way through the common room yet another, flashed my newly bright smile at Narcissa on a whim, and took in her faintly amused smile. I could hear the titters of her vapid friends but they didn't touch me.
Not today.
Maybe not ever anymore.
With a completely uncharacteristic smile on my face I stepped out of the entrance to the dungeons and headed out to the nearest stairs. My mind was racing a thousand miles an hour as I trusted the path to see me to the next location. The implications I considered earlier were still scintillating and I could barely contain my eagerness in testing their limitations.
Before I knew it I found myself on the seventh floor of Hogwarts and was slightly curious about the latest steps on the path. It bade me to softly whisper 'Lost and Found Room' thrice as I crossed the area in front of the painting of Barnabus the Befuddled Knight. I would have thought that nothing would surprise me anymore but when a door suddenly appeared on the wall across from the painting I had to frown.
Hogwarts was strange. I knew this. Staircases shifted on arbitrary whims, entire hallways occasionally lead you to strange places, but I had never heard of doors suddenly appearing. I opened the door and my jaw nearly fell to the floor as I took in the sight. Stacks and stacks of stuff filled the room to the walls. It was vast and with a single glance I could already tell the room was filled with riches.
Other people may regard this as trash but someone like me. For someone who was dirt poor, no shoes poor I believe the correct term was, this was nearing heaven. The voice told me to make way to the center of the maze of goods and pick up a old ruffled sack. I upended it immediately and it's contents spilled out all over the ground. Completely in tune with the path I bent over and grabbed a set of uniforms made out of acromentula silk.
The enchantments on it seemed to be unraveled but a few twitches from my wand took care of that. I nearly ripped off my own garments in my haste to try on the expensive robes.
They felt just like they looked. Utterly luxurious.
I was still lost in my admiration for the find when I whipped out my wand again and saw it twitch in the patterns for a summoning spell. From everywhere in the room small shiny things raced towards me. Just in time I pulled up the sack and caught the items with it. My eyes once again nearly popped out of my head when I noticed them for the pieces of jewelry they were.
Nothing I would wear myself but valuable non the less. Still, I checked the path, and breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't call me to gaudy myself up. One takes their blessings where they can. I caught my reflection in a dusty mirror and I felt yet another unbidden smile erupt.
Current path complete.
My appearance was, by any metric you could conceive of, simply better. The path delivered exactly what I wanted it to and I had to conclude it knew best. The endless list of attaining Lily's friendship on equal grounds still loomed large but I pushed it back. It was simply too depressing to let intrude right now. Instead I asked it another fairly straightforward question.
'How do I become a better wizard?'
Immediately hundreds of steps presented themselves and I let the path carry me where it may. There was still a faint worry in the back of my mind, which is I why I decided to keep my questions low key, but this couldn't be bad. Right?
Absentmindedly I walked and walked.
Before long I came across a group of third year Slytherins cornering a scared Hufflepuff. My instructions were clear. A quick 'Protego', a whispered banishing spell or two, and an 'Incarcerous' to end it. The Slytherins looked at me in dismay and more than a little bit of wariness. The Hufflepuff on the other hand ran out from their middle and hugged my leg.
The little midget couldn't have been much older than eleven and through her incomprehensible babble I could only grasp one thing. She wanted to go back to her friends but she lost them.
So much for Hufflepuff's sticking together. The path ordered me to kneel down next to the girl, wipe off her teas, and smile widely at her. I wasn't sure whether this was to comfort her or how this could possible make me a better wizard but I wasn't complaining. Not after the way the whispers proved themselves.
I kept up my smile and followed next set of instructions, "It's alright, sweet heart. I'll take you to your dorms. I'm sure you'll find your friends there. Is that alright?"
The saccharine sound of my voice almost startled me. I didn't know I could make those inflections..
Her sniffles had almost dried up by then but my attention was taken up by the next steps. I turned to the group, found that the girl still hadn't let go of my arm, and calm stated my concerns.
"Shame on you lot. We aren't Gryffindors."
I released the group from my bindings and braced myself for their vitriol. I wasn't worried about them, well not them exactly, but among them was a Dagworth, a Nott and a pudgy little Greengrass. If they were of a mind to...they might write their parents. I didn't think they could cause me much trouble but then again. When have things ever just worked out for me?
Instead their reaction almost shook me to my core.
The little Nott boy walked up to me and in a tiny voice said, "We're sorry, sir. Could...could you teach us how you did that?"
The voice took over and I said, "That depends. Will you be using those skills to bully defenseless little Hufflepuffs?"
His tiny neck must be sore from the rapid shaking he did.
"No, no we were just..I mean..." He trailed off for a moment, looked behind at his compatriots and seemingly came to a conclusion, "No, we won't. Isn't that right, guys?"
Almost as one they all agreed with him.
"Very well, I'll come find you Sunday afternoon. Make sure your homework is done before then."
I barely heard their hasty agreement before they all whisked off to somewhere. I looked down at the little Hufflepuff girl still clinging to me, sighed, and resigned myself to taking her to her dorms.
"What's your name, little girl?"
She seemingly got herself under control and managed to whisper, "Selena Wentforth, and what's yours?"
I rolled me eyes and replied, "Severus. Severus Snape."
The tiny Hufflepuff nodded firmly and said, "I like that. It sounds...strong."
I'd waste time trying to figure out what she meant but apparently the path agreed with me. It was just the inane mutterings of a tiny person.
"Will you teach me too?"
I resisting groaning as I felt my free time for the foreseeable future dry up before my eyes.
"Of course, sweet heart."
Oh god, again that saccharine voice. This path better be worth it.
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JamesB
You needed worthy opponents.
- Location
- Kansas
Interesting use of the phrase "better wizard". It has multiple possible interpretations. Better at using magic? Being a "nicer" person who happens to be a wizard?
You have to say what you mean to be able to mean what you say. A dictionary would be rather useful for Severus to have.
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Indeed. He thinks of himself as a wizard so he just asked PtV how to become a better person.
You know, I wonder if Snape asked the path how to completely break Potter. It seems he really took Dumbledore warning seriously if he didn't.
Or maybe he thinks of himself as the better person? dunno.
Or maybe he thinks of himself as the better person? dunno.
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Trier
Trying fate
- Location
- Digitally existent
Mmm. Something feels really wrong. Snape shouldn't have such power, especially when he's as vulnerable as he'd been the moment he triggered. It feels like he's going places he wouldn't consciously choose; but he's on his way anyway because his instinctive desires right now are pushing him there, and PtV can be as pedantic as a bad genie.
And besides, a wizard shouldn't have this power, period. This is going to be so, so broken.
This is full of win.
Snape should ask PoV for the way to get in contact with a real seer so that he can use the power proactively. There is a war going on after all, and even 47000 steps to Lily's heart will not help him if she is dead.
Snape should ask PoV for the way to get in contact with a real seer so that he can use the power proactively. There is a war going on after all, and even 47000 steps to Lily's heart will not help him if she is dead.