Harry Potter: I became Snape

Severus Snape flicked his wand lightly, and several ropes bound the old hag tightly, wrapping around her multiple times. He cautiously checked for any gaps in the restraints.

"That should do," he muttered under his breath, but his brow furrowed as his gaze fell on her cloudy, scheming eyes.

This old hag was far more cunning than he'd anticipated. Who knew what tricks she still had up her sleeve?

"Silencio!" he snapped, casting another spell.

A flash of light, and the hag's lips sealed shut.

Her eyes widened in fury, muffled gurgles escaping her throat.

Snape's fingers absently traced the length of his wand as he slowly circled the bound witch.

"Still…" he mused, rubbing his chin, a flicker of doubt in his eyes. "What if you can perform wandless magic or silent spells?"

Without hesitation, he raised his wand again.

"Just to be safe," he said coldly, aiming at the hag's arms.

Two sharp cracks rang out, and the hag convulsed violently under the ropes, letting out a stifled whimper. Her arms now hung at unnatural angles, rendering her unable to even move her fingers.

Snape nodded in satisfaction and turned to undo the spell on the little girl.

Just then, a faint groan caught his attention.

The werewolf, still entwined by Nagini, was slowly reverting to human form: coarse black fur receded, sharp claws retracted, revealing the pale face of a middle-aged man.

The massive snake opened its gaping maw, venomous fangs glinting coldly, aimed at the man's exposed neck.

"Nagini, don't bite!" Snape shouted urgently.

Nagini's slit-pupiled eyes turned to Snape. Her tongue flicked in and out, and she slowly uncoiled her body, slithering to his feet with a soft hiss.

The little girl, terrified by Snape's Parseltongue and the eerie scene, stumbled back and fell to the ground. Her eyes were wide, her small frame trembling uncontrollably.

"Thank you," Snape said gently, stowing his wand. "Don't be afraid. I misjudged you. I'm sorry."

When he pointed his wand at the girl, she flinched in fear.

"Finite Incantatem," he intoned as softly as he could.

The moment the ropes vanished, the girl stared at her freed hands in disbelief before throwing herself at the unconscious man on the ground.

"Daddy!" she sobbed, her voice raw with anguish, her small hands shaking his shoulders. "Daddy, please wake up! I'm begging you…"

Snape strode forward, dropping to one knee to inspect the man's injuries.

Nagini's fangs had left two gruesome puncture wounds on his shoulder, blood streaming out, soaking half his shirt.

"Move aside, let me see," Snape said, waving his wand. A soft blue light glowed at its tip. "Episkey! Vulnera Sanentur!"

He cast a dozen healing spells in succession, but the blood continued to flow unchecked.

Sweat beaded on Snape's forehead, and the light from his wand flickered unsteadily. His mind raced through every healing spell he'd ever learned, but none could counter Nagini's venom.

"Nagini," he said, turning to the snake and speaking urgently in Parseltongue, "is there anything you can do to stop the bleeding?"

Nagini flicked her tongue, seeming to consider.

After a moment, she turned and glided into the dense forest, the rustle of her scales against the leaves fading into the distance.

Snape maintained the basic healing spells, his eyes scanning their surroundings warily.

The old hag still squirmed nearby, making indistinct noises.

Time ticked by, the sunset's glow swallowed by the encroaching night, and the forest grew colder.

The girl's cries softened into intermittent sobs, then silent tears. She knelt beside her father, clutching his increasingly cold hand, her face deathly pale.

Snape's heart sank. If Nagini didn't return soon…

Just as the last rays of daylight vanished, a familiar rustling came from the underbrush.

A pair of emerald-green eyes glowed in the dark. Nagini returned, a peculiar plant clamped in her jaws.

Snape took the plant from her—a herb he'd never seen before. Its oval leaves had serrated edges, tiny yellow-green flowers emitted a faint, fresh scent, and its red-green stem glistened with dew.

He quickly ground the herb into a paste with magic and applied it gently to the man's wounds.

In the herb's fragrance, the bleeding slowed, and the purplish-black venom around the wounds began to fade.

"Thank you," Snape said, exhaling in relief as he patted Nagini's head. The snake coiled quietly at his feet.

When the man let out a faint groan, the girl's head snapped up. Her lips trembled, but no words came—only fresh tears spilled from her eyes.

Snape kindled a fire and conjured a simple stretcher with a Transfiguration spell.

He moved the man closer to the fire, carefully checking the wound. The herb was working; the man's breathing steadied slightly.

Then, Snape's stomach growled loudly.

He realized he hadn't eaten anything all day except for some charred fish.

Nagini lifted her head at the sound, glanced at him, then slithered back into the underbrush.

The girl sat quietly, hugging her knees, for a long while. Suddenly, she stood and ran to the old hag, rummaging through her robes.

Snape approached, helping to turn the hag over—an action that elicited an angry muffled grunt from her.

The girl yanked a necklace with a blood-red canine tooth from the hag's neck and pulled out a yellowed parchment, handing both to Snape.

"She used this paper to write things down," the girl said, passing them to him. "And this necklace to control the werewolf."

Snape took the parchment and necklace.

Unfurling the parchment, he found strange symbols and cryptic spells—records of the hag's experiments.

His eyes scanned the scrawled handwriting, growing more horrified with each line. The cruelty of these dark magic experiments surpassed anything he'd known.

The canine tooth in his hand radiated an unshakable stench of blood, its surface glinting with an eerie light. Its size suggested it came from a massive werewolf.

"Thank you, little one," he said, carefully sealing both items with magic and tucking them into his robes. "I'll keep these safe for now."

He considerately flipped the hag back face-down onto the ground.

Soon, Nagini returned with a crushed muntjac deer.

Seeing her, Snape stood and began pacing around them.

"Protego Totalum… Salvio Hexia… Muffliato…" he muttered, wand raised. "Hmm, no need for Muggle-Repelling Charms. Wouldn't mind if they showed up now."

Next, Snape clumsily prepared the muntjac, dispelling the smell of blood.

"Can you roast meat?" he asked the girl.

She nodded faintly, the firelight dancing on her dirt-streaked face.

The flames crackled as she roasted the muntjac meat on sticks, fat sizzling into the fire.

"Hey," Snape said suddenly, "what's your name? Can you tell me your story?"

"Ah!" The girl jumped, nearly dropping the stick into the fire.

She glanced nervously at Snape, then at the hag, who still writhed silently on the ground.

"My name's Anna…" she said quietly. "This winter, my parents brought me here for a trip… and then that witch captured us…"

As she spoke, Snape learned the hag was a dark witch researching ways to control werewolves.

When she ran out of werewolf subjects, she began abducting ordinary people to create new ones.

"After my mum was bitten by her last werewolf," Anna said, tears falling to the ground, "she died in the experiments… Dad can sometimes control his transformations, but not always…"

Snape's pupils contracted. This was a staggering breakthrough. He'd never heard of werewolves controlling their transformations, let alone obeying human commands.

The wizarding world had yet to solve the werewolf problem, yet progress had been made in this remote forest? He couldn't help but glance at the unconscious man.

"Want some?" Anna's timid voice broke his thoughts.

She held out a skewer of roasted meat, hesitantly standing before Nagini.

To Snape's surprise, Nagini gently took the meat, pulling it off the stick and swallowing it gracefully.

"You don't like fish, do you?" Snape asked in Parseltongue, exasperated. Nagini gave a disdainful flick of her head.

Anna froze, startled again by the Parseltongue, and dropped her stick with a clatter.

"It's okay," Snape said gently, bending to pick up the stick, cleaning it with a spell before handing it back. "I was just asking her if it tasted good."

Anna nodded faintly, returning to the fire to roast more meat, occasionally glancing worriedly at her father.

"You eat the next piece," Snape said. "Then teach me how to roast it."

He recalled his abysmal cooking skills, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

As night deepened, Snape let Anna sleep near the fire while he kept watch. Nagini coiled at his feet.

At the first hint of dawn, a faint noise jolted Snape from his light sleep. The fire had burned out.

Someone was shouting nearby.

"Nagini, hide for now."

After a moment's hesitation, Snape sent Nagini into the bushes, pulled Anna to his side, and carefully lifted the protective charms around their makeshift camp.

As the spells dissolved, he saw an owl circling overhead, a gaudy flying carpet trailing it.

Snape recognized the figures aboard: Eileen Prince, Lily Evans, and Arthur Weasley.

"Over here!" he shouted, waving.

The owl folded its wings and swooped down, a small parchment tied to its leg.

Before he could retrieve it, the carpet zoomed in.

"Severus!"

Eileen practically fell off the carpet. She stumbled over, hands trembling as she touched his face and shoulders, checking for injuries.

Her eyes were red, as if she hadn't slept, her hair a disheveled mess.

Lily stood nearby, her green eyes full of worry but silent. She looked exhausted, dark circles under her eyes.

"Merlin's beard!" Arthur Weasley panted. "We've been searching for you like mad! The Albanian Ministry of Magic was no help—just bureaucratic nonsense, making us wait after registering…"

To find Snape, they'd tried everything, even consulting local seers, who offered only cryptic riddles.

It was Lily who thought of using an owl to deliver a letter, knowing Snape would never ignore their message.

"Yesterday, the owl circled a pile of rocks for ages," Lily said, her voice tinged with fear, "then suddenly flew this way… we followed it all night…"

Warmth flooded Snape's chest, his throat tightening.

"I'm fine," he said softly, then turned. "But there's someone here who needs help…"

Arthur Weasley moved toward the hag, who'd spent the night face-down on the cold ground.

"Wait," Snape called, stopping him. "She's an enemy. Don't undo her bindings."

With Arthur's help, Snape loaded Anna's still-unconscious father and the hag onto the carpet.

Eileen kept watching him, as if afraid he'd vanish from her sight.

As they boarded the carpet, Snape stood at the forest's edge and called in Parseltongue, "Come out, Nagini."

The snake slowly emerged from the bushes.

"Severus!" Eileen leapt off the carpet, wand raised, stepping protectively in front of him.

"It's okay," Snape said softly, pulling her aside. "She saved my life, in a way. She's my friend now."

"Come with me, will you?" he said, crouching to meet Nagini's eyes. "At least you'll have someone to talk to."

"Alright…" Nagini hissed after a long pause, her voice barely discernible.

"Then," Snape said, "don't be afraid. I'll cast a spell to make you smaller."

Nagini nodded slightly.

Though they knew Snape was a Parselmouth, Eileen and Lily watched in astonishment. Arthur Weasley kept pushing up his slipping glasses.

"Reducio."

Under the spell, Nagini shrank from twelve feet to less than two.

She slithered up Snape's sleeve, her small head poking out from his collar to nuzzle his cheek.

"Let's go," Snape said, boarding the carpet. "We're going home."

————

Supporting me on Patreon to gain early access to advanced chapters and enjoy expedited updates. Your support is greatly appreciated.

pat-reon .com/Dragonhair

(Just remove the hyphen - and space, to access Patreon normally.)