Fate Set Right

Chapter 59

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August 11, 1997

For the first time since arriving at the age of eleven, Severus stared at Hogwarts and thought of just how wrong it felt to be there. So, so very wrong. He hadn't moved from where he Apparated for about fifteen minutes, scared to find out if the castle had accepted him as Headmaster, equally hoping it would and wouldn't.

There was no pomp or ceremony when becoming the headmaster of the largest, most famous wizarding school this side of the Atlantic. It consisted of a trip into the Ministry, easily done now that the search for him as a wanted man was called off. He had walked across the Atrium, gone to the Minister of Magic's office, and signed the papers handed to him by the Imperiused Pius Thickness. That was it, a simple scrawl across an ancient, magically-persevered document. His signature, placed beneath his predecessor's, had been all that was needed.

He'd felt his magic link to the parchment, he felt the tingle of the wards on his senses when he appeared at the gates, but there was still a niggle of both doubt and hope that this was a cruel trick.

Severus placed his hand on the gate and nearly fell to his knees with the warmth he felt in his soul. The school didn't just accept him, it welcomed him, embraced him, was pleased to have him. Had Albus felt the greeting so intensely? And if it had, had it waned over time, with every manipulative and deceitful act?

Bracing his other hand on the stone wall, Severus opened the gate, walking through to the place he had called home nearly all his life.

He closed his eyes, taking in the silence, allowing his magic and his mind to assimilate with the new large and ancient presence. He could feel the teachers that were already inside. He felt Filius setting new wards around his classroom, felt Pomona tending to her plants, Minerva in her office, pacing. He knew Poppy was in the medical wing, and that the house-elves were already preparing the next meal to be served to the professors. It was all so much, too much. But bloody hell if it didn't leave him feeling at least a little high.

"Headmaster," Hagrid's politely cold greeting made him open his eyes, looking at the half giant who showed him no signs of kindness.

"Hagrid." He bowed his head, refusing to allow his mask to settle in place just yet. "I am planning to make changes to the way we handle discipline this year. You will be called upon to supervise detentions," he stated, leaving no room for argument. He turned abruptly, his robes billowing behind him as he made his way to the front doors, back straight, head held high. He could feel Hagrid's eyes boring into the back of his head, and with a flick of his fingers, he placed a shield around himself. A moment later, he felt something bounce off of it, but didn't pause his stride. He didn't want to threaten, he didn't want to be the Death Eater when he didn't have to be.

He entered the castle, ignoring the mumbled greetings from the nearby portraits. He stopped, just a moment, to look up at the ceiling and the planets, their alignment mapped out above his head. He recalled not knowing they were there until he'd found his daughter and Miss Lovegood on the floor, staring up at it.

Severus continued, not slowing his stride until he stood before the gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office. It looked up at him, stared a moment, then bowed. "Headmaster."

"Guardian," he returned with a bowed head.

"State your password and I will allow no one entry but those who know it."

"The lion and the dawn," he said.

The gargoyle bowed once more and stepped aside.

He took the stairs two at a time, entirely ignoring the fact that they moved. When faced with the door to his office, his stomach churned. His life would change on the other side of that door; he'd been forced onto a path he'd never wanted. He forced the nausea away, knowing there was nothing he could do to change the past. He opened the door and stepped through.