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Dark Gods In The Blood	By : Hayseed Category: Harry Potter > General > General Views: 3951 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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A/N: Believe it or
not, none for this chapter -- extended notes follow the epilogue. Thanks for reading!

Summary: A wandering
student comes home, a br man man pays his penance, and a gruesome murder is
both more and less than it seems. Some
paths to self-discovery have more twists and turns than others.

Rating: R, for
intermittent dark themes, violence, and language

Disclaimer: Nothing
you read here (save the plot and bits of the text itself) belongs to me. Harry Potter and his cronies are the
property of JK Rowling and Warner Bros. (and someone else, probably, but not
me). All chapter headings are properly
credited to their sources.

Dark Gods in the Blood

by: Hayseed (hayseed_42@hotmail.com)

Chapter Thirty

�His
last word -- to live with,� she murmured.
�Don�t you

understand I loved him -- I loved him -- I
loved him!�

I pulled
myself together and spoke slowly.

�The last
word he pronounced was -- your name.�

-- Joseph Conrad,
Heart of Darkness

�By all accounts,
Severus,� Albus said cheerfully, �you�ve been rather busy as of late. Were you waiting for me to get rid of
Cuthrell to leave Perkins or was that coincidence?�

He rolled his eyes and
took another sip of tea. �I assure you,
it was merely coincidence. Or
Providence, depending on one�s point of view.�

�Whichever it was, it
seems to have been for the best,� he . Minerva brought a sack of them back from the last Hogsmeade
weekend -- they�re quite good.� He held
out a paper sack with one of his best imperturbable smiles.

�Albus,� Severus sighed,
holding up a hand in refusal. �You only
try that ridiculous little trick with the sweets with me when you�ve got
something particularly bad to say, so let�s just skip the games and have it
out.�

/spa/span>

Contriving to look wounded,
Albus tucked the sack away somewhere in the confines of his robes. �Actually, I rather think you�ll be glad of
my news.�

Severus was unable to
mask his impatience. �Albus ...�

�Oh, very well,� his
uncle said, heaving a sigh of mock misery.
�I spoke with the administration at Perkins, and it seems they feel they
are ... unable to continue meeting your needs.
Especially after this last escapade.�

�You mean ...� he began
slowly. �They threw me out?�

�Right on your charming
little ear,� Albus agreed. �They were
willing either to issue you a certificate of impeccable mental health o
go
give you a stellar recommendation to the hospital of my choice.�

Slumping his shoulders,
his voice was low. �And which hospital
did you choose, then?�

Since he was looking down
at his teacup -- a sad little affair decorated with pink pansies and an
inexplicable crack down one side -- Severus missed Albus� expression
completely. �Actually ...� he said
quietly. �I chose the other
option.� And with that, he hoarsely
whispered an incantation Severus had never heard before.

The teacup shattered as
it hit the floor, falling from Severus� suddenly senseless hands. Little tingles, an odd mixture of pain and
joy, ran down his limbs and his skin felt as if it was on fire. Green spots danced before his eyes and there
was a dizzying moment when he thought he was going to pass out.

And then it was over,
nearly before it had fully started.
Flexing his hands, Severus stared down at them in wonder. �What did you ...?�

�Catch,� Albus said,
pitching something through the air.

Blinking, Severus
automatically looked up and wrapped his fingers around the long, thin object
flying toward his face. He realized
with a shock that he was holding his wand.

Albus smiled indulgently
at the look of complete and total surprise on his nephew�s face. �Well, Severus, it seems I�ve finally
managed the impossible and taken you completely off-guard.�

He held the wand gingerly
between his thumb and pointer finger, remembering the feel of smooth wood
against his fingers as if in a dream.
�Are you saying ...?�

Feeling the internal tug
as Albus carelessly poked his fingers into that old wound, Severus bit back his
frown.

But his uncle must have
caught a glimmer of it, at least.
�Severus,� he sighed. �I know
I�ve not told you often, and I�ve certainly not shown you often, but I do love you. If I had a son, he could not possibly be
more dear to me.�

The frown deepened. �Albus, you don�t have to --�

�I do,� he said sharply,
cutting him off. �Severus, I allowed
you to spend your entire life believing that you are alone, but I will not do
it any longer. Even if you have no one
else in this world, you�ll always have one barmy old man who loves you with all
his heart.� Albus allowed a grin to
flit briefly across his face. �More
than Sirius Black and Harry Potter combined.�

Damn it, Severus swore as
he felt tale-tell prickles at the corners of his eyes. He would not cry. Would not, would not, would
not!
�Uncle Albus ...� he sighed.

�And then there�s that,�
he continued in a brisk tone that Severus suspected was masking his own
tears. �We�ll have no more of this
�Albus� nonsense. I know it�s a bit
late for it, but I�d much prefer to be your uncle. If you�d like, I can even have a set of robes embroidered. Severus� uncle. Of course,
that�s only if you�ll have the matching ones that say Albus� nephew.�

A weight fell off
Severus� shoulders, then, as the moment passed. �You really are a crazy old goat, aren�t you?�

Eyes widening at the old family
joke, Albus chuckled -- it soon turned into a full-belly laugh -- and after a
pause, Severus joined in.

�Oh ... good old
Aberforth,� Albus said through panting breaths as their laughter wound
down. �I still invite him to Hogwarts
for Christmas every year, but he�s yet to take me up on it.�

�I believe the Muggles
have a good expression about the odds of survival of a snowball in the depths
of hell that would describe the likelihood of Aberforth Dumbledore voluntarily
darkening the door of Hogwarts while you�re still Headmaster,� Severus said
dryly, clearing his throat.

�Well, he�d probably be
very disappointed, anyway,� Albus said.

�True,� he agreed, tone
bland. �There�s no proper livestock for
miles.�

�I guess that this year,�
he began, still smiling at Severus� jab, �I ought to proffer an invitation to you as well.
Although, if I recall, you were never as impressed with Hogwarts
Christmases as the rest of the children,� he continued thoughtfully. �Minerva would be glad to see you, though. You two always got on so well together.�

Severus lifted an eyebrow
at that.

�Well,� he amended. �I explained most of the situation at hand
to her. She has a fairly pronounced
soft spot for you, Severus. Inasmuch as
Minerva has soft spots of any sort, that is.�

The eyebrow rose further.

�Absolutely not,� Severus
interrupted. �Albus -- Uncle,� he
amended to Albus� pointed look. �You
know as well as I do that not only do I hate teaching with every fiber of my
being, my students hated me teaching
with every fiber of their beings.�

�Your results were
spectacular, though,� he said, a wistful note in his voice. �Well ... your test scores, at any
rate. I must say that you were fairly
effective at killing interest in your subject as well. Hogwarts has produced fewer Potions Masters
during your teaching years than at any other point in its history.�

�You see,� he exclaimed
with something close to glee. �No,
Uncle Albus. I�ll go work for Cornelius
Fudge filing paper clips in some useless Ministry department before I�ll go
back to teaching.�

�Paper clips?� Albus
echoed.

He rolled his eyes and
made a huffing noise. �Figuratively.�

�Well, then,� he
conceded. �If it�s a Ministry job
you�re after, I can speak with --�

�No!� Severus said
firmly. �I�m going to find employment
on my own. If I need a recommendation,
I�ll ask you for it, but otherwise, this is something that I can do for
myself. If the great Albus Dumbledore
has to step in and find his pitiable nephew a job, I won�t ever have so much as
an ounce of credibility, in any
field. Especially combined with my track
record.�

Clearly unhappy with
this, Albus made a face but changed the subject gamely. �Are you planning on staying here, then?�

Looking around Ron
Weasley�s dingy flat and dimly noticing the broken teacup on the floor for the
first time, Severus thought about it for a moment. �Weasley hasn�t said anything about me being here one way or
another. Actually, he�s been gone --
Granger�s mostly the only other person around.
And now that my financial situation is ... less dire, I should probably
find a place of my own. I could go to a
hountiuntil I can arrange something.�

�Nonsense,� Albus
retorted. �If you need a place to stay,
I�ve got not only an entire castle full of spare rooms up at Hogwarts, but a
family estate as well. an>Jan>Just say the word,
my boy, and the keys are yours. What
use do I have for a country estate,
anyway? I barely spend any time there.�

�Maybe,� he said shortly,
eyes fixed on the broken teacup.

For the first time in
five years, Severus Snape lifted his wand.
Pointing it at the teacup shards, he whispered, �Reparo,� in a shaky voice, feeling a heartbreakingly
familiar rush of energy down his arm.
He closed his eyes.

When he was finally able
to bring himself to open them, he saw a whole cup sitting on its side on the
floor -- even the crack he�d first noticed had been fixed. With no small amount of wonder in his eyes,
he leaned over and picked it up, not noticing Albus� broad smile.

--
-- -- -- --

�I refuse to have this
argument again,� Severus sighed.

�Which one?� Hermione
asked irritably as she rummaged around in the refrigerator. �I rather thought we had two going on at
once.�

He poked at the table,
watching it wobble precariously with a slight frown. �Either.� He poked it
again. �Both.�

�Well, then, let me
settle one of them at least,� she snapped, tossing a head of lettuce on the
counter. �Ron�s sublet his flat to me
at a ludicrously cheap rate, and it�s unbelievably stupid for you to move into a hotel while you�re looking
for a place of your own when you can stay right here. Hell, go stayh yoh your uncle.
He told me the other day that he offered you a mansion.�

Shaking his head, Severus
began obediently slicing up the hunk of cheese she shoved into his hand. �I�m not looking for charity.�

Hermione rolled her
eyes. �Then don�t take the mansion,�
she said, muffled as her head went back into the icebox. �But don�t think for a second that I�m offering you charity. You�ll have to sleep on the couch, unless you transfigure it
yourself. I expect you to pay half of
the rent, and buy most of your own groceries.
I�m mostly broke and currently unemployed, you see. Although Kingsley said that he wouldn�t mind
seeing me in the Auror training program.
I don�t think that�s a paying position, though.�

He chewed thoughtfully on
a sliver of cheese. �You should go into training.
As the captor of the wizarding world�s first official serial killer, I�m
certain the Ministry would be willing to put you on some sort of living stipend
while you were in training.�

Slamming the refrigerator
door, she went to the counter again, hands laden with various sandwich
articles. �You were saying something
about charity ...�

�It�s not the same,� he
protested, taking a tomato from her hand and cutting into it.

�Close enough,� she
retorted. �There�s ham and turkey. Which do you want?�

He hummed. �Both, I think. If there�s enough.�

�Hogwarts can�t be that bad,� she mused, handing him a couple slices of
bread.

�It�ll be worse,� he grumbled, taking a few bits of lettuce and
arranging them artistically on one of the bread slices. �All of those damned women fussing. They�ll
want to �hear all about it,� and tell me that I�m a �good boy.� At least at Perkins no one wanted to talk.�

She passed him a plate
full of sliced meat. �Well, we�ve
settled that, at least.�

His face shuttered. �The other suggestion is not up for debate,
Granger.� Sandwich now assembled, save
the cheese and tomato sitting on the table, Severus walked away from her
deliberately, carrying his plate. With
relish, he Summoned a carton of juice from the icebox once he�d sat down, as
well as a glass from a cupboard.

�Showoff,� she said, a
disconcerting, teasing sort of affection in her voice.

Swishing his wand in the
air -- not casting, just enjoying the feel
of the magic tingling down his arm -- Severus frowned. �Not hardly,� he said.

Absently, she piled
together a sandwich of her own and joined him at the table. �I�m sure Ron would like to see you.�

�Nonsense,� he said,
pouring himself a glass of juice. As an
afterthought, he Summoned a second glass and poured her one as well.

�He would,� she persisted, putting the last of the tomato on
her sandwich and trying to close the whole mess with minimal spillage. pan>pan>�He�s always spoken well of you. Well ...�
She wrapped her hands around her sandwich and attempted to pick it up --
a tomato slice splattered back onto the plate and a bit of turkey flapped out
of one side. �Since I�ve been back, at
least.� Carefully, she reached out a single
finger and poked the turkey back into place.

Cradling his own
sandwich, Severus took a vicious bite out of a corner. �Merely obligation, I assure you,� he said,
chewing as he spoke.

�No,� she protested. �He really respects you. The whole Aurory does, you know. I just thought ... well, since I�m going
over to Fran�oise�s house to see him off this afternoon, that you might come
along.�

�I can think of an
infinite number of things I�d rather do,� he said, taking another bite. �Some of which involve rabid animals and
steak sauce.�

With a glare over at him,
she sipped delicately at her juice.

They finished their
luncheon in silence, alternating between scowling at their plates and scowling
at each other. When she finished,
Hermione pushed her chair back from the table with deliberate force. �You
can clean up the kitchen,� she said. �I�m going to get ready to go over to Fran�oise�s.� And she flounced out of the room.

Sighing, Severus finished
up his own sandwich and drained his juice glass. He obediently put away the leftover sandwich ingredients
littering the counters and began moving the dishes into the sink.

As he took Hermione�s
plate off the table in preparation to wash it, he felt a telling jerk behind
his navel. Falling forward into
darkness, Severus cursed, realizing she�d tricked him.

--
-- -- -- --

�That was low,� he mumbled into the dirt. �Even for you.�

�I rather thought you�d
like iHermHermione said cheerfully, a good distance away. �Turn the plate into a Portkey and Apparate
once I was sure you�d touched it. It
took you forever to get around to
clearing the table.�

He did not turn over,
preferring to continue to address the grass he was lying in. �I thought it would be best to take care of
the perishables first.�

�Well, you ought to get
up,� she replied. �Everyone�s due outside
in a minute and you don�t want to make a poor first impression, do you?�

�I ought to just
Apparate,� he sighed.

�You should,� she
agreed. �But we both know you won�t, so
why don�t you go ahead and stand? There
are little children for you to menace.�

Rol his his eyes only
slightly, Severus picked himself up off the front lawn, turning around to look
up at a fairly stately old Victorian home, complete with wraparound front porch
and gabled upper story windows. �This
is Potter�s house?�

�Yes,� she said. �This is where Harry lived.�

�I wouldn�t have expected
...�

She studied him
impassively. �Harry always wanted the normal family life, so I�m sure he made many
efforts along that vein.�

Severus did not know what
to say to that -- to the sadness
suddenly shining out of Hermione�s eyes -- but he was saved from having to
respond by a suddenly opening front door.

Ron Weasley, as gangly
and redheaded as ever, stepped out onto the Potters� front porch, a small girl
with curly blonde hair safely ensconced in his arms.

�That�s Alice Potter,�
Hermione supplied in a whisper.
�Harry�s daughter.�

He squinted at the girl,
seeing nothing of her father in her face.
Possibly noticing his attention, the girl caught his eye suddenly and
waved, smiling brightly. Severus took
an involuntary step backward in surprise.

�Nicholas,� she whispered
in his ear. �Harry�s son.�

�I remember,� he said
dryly. �Potter used to bore us all to tears
at Order meetings with baby pictures.�

�Be nice,� she
admonished, tapping his elbow sternly.
He tactfully remained silent.

The boy was followed by a
rather smallish looking young woman -- shorter than Hermione, to be sure, but
not abnormally so -- with honey blonde hair nearly matching the baby�s. It fell neatly down to her shoulders. Her stylish clothing suggested an air of
sophistication to Severus that he would not have believed possible of someone
affiliated so closely with Harry Potter.

�And there�s Harry�s
wife, Fran�oise,� she concluded.

The unlikely quartet made
its way down the front walk, Weasley at its lead. �Hermione,� he said warmly once he was close enough, a broad
smile on his face. �And Snape?�

�Weasley,� Severus said
with a curt nod.

Clearly curious,
apparently Weasley decided to let it pass, saying nothing in reply.

The woman -- Fran�oise
Potter -- came fod. �So you�re the infamous
Professor Snape. I�ve heard so much about you.�

�I�m sorry to say that
large parts of it are probably true,� he said stiffly.

Laughing, she reached out
and touched his forearm -- Severus tried not to flinch and mostly
succeeded. �I�m glad, then,� she told
him, smile widening and becoming even more enigmatic. �You will be a very interesting person to get to know, I think,
Professor.�

He tried not to shuffle
his feet. �I am no longer a professor,
Mrs. Potter.�

�A fact for which the
entire wizarding population of Britain under the age of eighteen should be
grateful,� Hermione said snidely, eliciting a snigger from Weasley and a thin
smile from Severus himself.

�Indeed,� he said with
quirked eyebrow.

�Well ...� Wey say said into
the suddenly awkward silence, clearing his throat suggestively. �I know that you brought in old Snape here
as a distraction, Butterfly, but I really do need to get going.�

�I know,� Hermione told
him with a sad sigh. �And I understand,
Ron. I really do.�

With clear sorrow in his
eyes, Weasley disentangled the little girl from his arms and placed her
carefully on the ground, kneeling down.
�Goodbye, Alice,� he said quietly -- Severus was absolutely shocked at
the gentleness in his voice. �You be a
good girl for your mum, you hear?�

The girl�s nose
wrinkled. �Come on,� he cajoled
eagerly. �I can teach you. It�ll be fun, I promise!�

-- -- --
-- --
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Dark Gods In The Blood