IHaveHidden
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Chapter 16 (Common ground)
🕑 Added 2024-02-25 02:21:20 +0000 UTCHaving a weapon that could effectively wipe out the entirety of Europe out did not deflate my ego. Nor did it manage to break the euphoric high I was feeling. No, I was back up and running with that same cocky attitude I did not want to be displaying. I knew it was an issue but I everything just felt like a joke at this point. How could I be worried about petty squabbles with nobility when I had a nuke in my hands? If I wanted to conquer the world I stood a very real shot at doing so. I was tempted to twirl a non existent mustache while laughing manaically. It was only the thought that I was acting like Potter that cooled me down.
That thought brought my mood down immensely. Sure I had a reason to be that cocky but I was being a different kind of dick head. Just because I had power did not mean that others' problems were not serious. Magical families are quietly bracing for war. Relatives are going missing at a nearly daily rate. Countless mundanes will find themselves tortured and killed on the whims of mad men. Sure I found the big bad a joke now but that did not mean their suffering was a joke. So I should take this seriously. I had no idea how to use the nuke I had after all.
I have tested out the blade and yeah it cut anything I tried but I did not have anything really impressive to defend with. The rifle on the other hand. Well, the island wipping blast was not something I was willing to test out. At least I was not willing to test it in a place that Lily could be caught in. I had no idea how to control the output of it so I was going to seal it unless I needed it. So the plan of nuking Voldemort was off the table for now. Unless he did something stupid like attack Lily. In which case the gloves come off and London will likely be a thing of the past.
So I did not really have anything to do with these artifacts at the moment. I suppose training with a sword is going to have to be added to my schedule. I was also going to have to acquire a teacher as my swings would be demolished by a skilled swordsman even if I could chop their blades in twine. I just did not have the skill to use a blade that could cut anything. Nor did I have the physique. I may be in a perfect nutritional state at the moment but it did not boost my physique. It just made what I had currently healthy. My twig like arms can attest to that.
Still, the problems with my physique can be solved with potions. Like most of my problems to be honest. Which led me back to acquiring ingredients. Something I could not do at the moment. As I was marching towards my next class. The school could no longer teach me anything I cared about but Lily was here so I stayed. I was honestly tempted to skip this next class even if I would get in more shit.
It was Transfiguration. The class that I was completely and utterly overshadowed by Potter. I knew Potter was a prodigy in Transfiguration just as I was a monster in Potions. I was not too bothered by that as Potions was the superior subject as my own accomplishments can attest to. Still, it did not mean I enjoyed sitting around while everyone sucked Potter’s cock. I literally had better things to do.
With my new found abilities I could outperform in many subjects but Transfiguration was a rather delicate art. My ability to see Magical Aura’s would help in that but my tendency to overpower spells would not help there. So I might actually do worse than usual. Unless we are doing conjuration in which case I could swarm the classroom. While it would be an excellent showcase of power it would not be a good showcase of skill. So I should be rather lowkey in today's class.
Here’s hoping that Potter is still passed out in that corridor. Sure I would have to deal with Thing 1,2, and 3 but without Potter they are kind of like headless chickens. I also think I have put the fear of god into Peter and Lupin. Sirius is a lost cause he would go charging into death if Potter had a fucking boo boo.
Well, I was almost at the classroom so I suppose it is now time to face the music.
The classroom was pretty much full by the time I got there. I was cutting it rather close. When I walked in I could swear I felt everyone’s eyes on me. I was expecting it but it did not mean I was feeling comfortable with their gazes. I was a rather introverted animal even if I had dreams of being world famous. The weight of their gazes tells me I would not like being that guy. Even if I still wanted everything fame could bring you.
My introspection was interrupted by the professor locking her gaze on me. Her gaze was worse because she had purpose instead of curiosity. It was not malice but I was fully aware that I have made myself someone to be cautious of.
“So you are still attending classes Mr. Snape. After you not coming in for yesterday’s class I thought you had better things to do.” Mcgonagal’s cutting remarks were supposed to cowl me but again I cared very little about her opinion of me. Nor the consequences she was going to deliver onto me.
“Sorry professor after yesterday I was feeling…Rather unwell I was resting.” I managed to force out a wince. It was not actually that hard as I was feeling rather bad about blowing my cover like that. Even if it led to a series of events that have skyrocketed my abilities. I was planning on doing all of those things anyway so my outburst was completely unneeded.
“Is that so? Well, even so Mr. Snape you should have sent someone to inform the professors.” Her voice was just a hint gentler she may not like me but her priority was her students.
“You will be serving detention for the next week.” Curt and straight to the point. Something I completely expected from her. I would be worried about what other punishments were in store for me but the other classes I missed yesterday were History and Potions. So I was not exactly frightened about those Professor’s cracking down on me.
I just nodded and went to go sit down. There was only one seat left in the Slytherin section and it happened to be next to Avery. When I got close enough I could see him start to shake. Well, at least I knew I managed to put the fear of me into him. He was looking every where trying to find a way out of his little predicament. Fate seemed to shine on him as someone else approached him.
“Move.” A snooty voice that I was rather familiar with. Narcissa missed my little show yesterday but with the look on her face she wanted details. With her command, Avery bolted from his seat to get away. She did not sit down in Avery’s seat she instead sat down in the free one. She then gestured for me to sit in Avery’s seat. I could only chuckle at her antics as I moved into the seat.
She then looked at me and opened her mouth to say something but it snapped shut as she got a look at me. Her hands reached out to my cheek like a whip as she grabbed it and rubbed it between her fingers. She then released my face and looked at her fingers.
“What in Merlin’s name did you do with your skin Severus?” Out of all the questions I imagined she would ask that was not one of them. I really should have as I have changed a rather large amount after all.
“It was a new potion I finished developing.” I smiled blandly at her. I mean I did finish developing a potion it was just not the one that affected my skin.
“You have to get me some Severus.” She was now poking my cheek testing the quality of my skin. It was a demand but that was just how Narcissa operated I knew that she would pay for it. She always did when she demanded anything from me. I did not really need the money now but I did like Narcissa so I suppose I could make her one.
“Can’t I’m out of ingredients.” It was the truth of the matter and it would shut down any talks about it. Sure I did not mind making her one but I was a little busy at the moment. Not to mention Narcissa’s skin was already amazing. I knew she would not offer to get me ingredients as that would imply she wanted the recipe and Narcissa knew that would be a misstep with me. So she only huffed at me.
“Fine, but when you restock I want some of the first batch.” She then slid a galleon towards me. That was actually rather generous for just pre ordering.
“Will do Princess. I will make sure to get your skin looking even more amazing than it usually does.” I would too. I have brewed a large variety of beauty potions for others and none of them compare to the side effects of the nutrition potion.
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: When can you get me that gun Mr Prince?]
I looked at the private message I received in surprise I thought I had lost that deal. I don’t see why she would do that unless she wanted to repay me. It’s a nice offer but fifty points would not make that much of a difference. I did not want to appear like I was taking advantage of her kindness.
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: You should take Powerup’s deal she really will get you what ever you want. Points can be used for quite a lot after all.]
There I gave her an out. By assuring her that I did not mind her taking Rias’s deal I was no longer taking advantage of her gratitude. This way if she was stubborn about it I could take the deal with out it looking like I wanted to. I then looked back at Narcissa who was looking at my hair now. I am going to have to get used to bouncing between two conversations. I can’t just suddenly ignore reality when chatting with the group members. I could ignore Bro-con but she was coming to me with a deal.
“Did you make another potion for your hair? It is not as good as the skin one but it was quite good.” She announced after looking at my hair. She did not touch my hair this time as mess and Narcissa did not go together and my hair was still filled with fumes.
“It’s actually the same potion the effect was only poor because my hair is filled with potion fumes.” With that, her gaze became razor sharp. Like I said before a potion that does what mine does would make a killing. Sex sells that is a lesson that applies very well no matter what world you find yourself in.
Narcissa clearly wanted to know more about the potion but she was holding herself back. She knew what I had done was something people don’t talk about. I’m sure I have raised her opinion of my skills to the moon. If she knew I created something like Fortuna she might call me the next coming of Merlin. I decided I would throw her a bone as I did like bragging.
“It’s a nutritional potion. It renders you in a perfectly healthy state as far as nutrition is concerned.” I smiled teasingly at her. I effectively told her the market for my potion was not just limited to those who pursued beauty. She looked me over again as if trying to analyze all the differences my potion brought.
“Well, you are just full of surprises lately.” She snarked out at me. She was right but she was just seeing the tip of the iceberg. I was not full of surprises I was surprise it self.
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: I would rather deal with you.]
Well, I might as well add stubbornness to her long list of character traits.
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: You don’t have to do this if you want to repay me. What you asked for was rather minor. Plus you made me the Admin which was well worth it.]
Thank god I can reply in my mind. Other wise Narcissa would see me typing into the air constantly.
“Right, the elephant in the room.” I grimaced as I faced Narcissa.
“Can’t really ignore it with Avery, too scared to even look at you.” She smirked and looked back at Avery who was still shaking.
“I kind of lost myself yesterday but I can’t say I regret seeing him like that.” I chuckled darkly at that. That dumbass should be afraid of me. Actually Fortuna can you give him the Pyrrha treatment? The answering giggle brought a smile to my face. It only got larger as Avery’s seat suddenly snapped and he flopped on the floor.
“So he is getting the Potter treatment now?’ She raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow as she questioned me. I guess my suddenly smiling viciously at Avery was enough of a give away. Not that I was hiding my involvement in his suffering. She then grimaced as if remembering something.
“You should tone it down a bit. If Potter dies you will be in deep waters. Sirus as well he is an idiot but if he dies my family will lose it.” Sound advice but I was no longer stealing their luck so those chuckle fucks should be fine for now. Fortuna’s sudden guilt changed my thoughts on that. I guess she was fucking with them already. You can still do that Fortuna just make sure they don’t die. She accepted that fairly quickly.
“Will do Princess.” I am not quite sure if she believed me but she offered her advice. So she simply accepted it.
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: I would still rather deal with you. I don’t exactly trust her.]
Interesting although I should have expected the starving girl would have trust issues. There are only so many ways you can find yourself in those types of situations. Saving her and her brother’s life must have been the tipping point for her trust.
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: Okay I can get you the revolver later today. I’ll just take twenty points it’s not a rather taxing task to do.]
“So where did the sudden strength come from?” I could hear the unsaid, another potion in her words. That was not a can of worms I would want to open. If I could make a potion that could increase magical strength I would have people offering their first borns for it. That was not an exaggeration either I would be swarmed in marriage contracts within hours. No one jokes around when magical strength is involved.
“ I don’t know I was just so angry that everything just came pouring out.” There an answer that answered nothing. Sure I knew why I had so much mana now. I was two souls stitched together. Still, that was not an answer that anyone would accept. Nor is it one I wanted to give.
She only hummed and gave me another measured look.
“Well, it was impressive none the less.” She smiled at me before another loud crash came from across the room.
Sirus slipped and slammed his face into a desk. Potter was glaring at me. Damn it there goes the hope that he was passed out drooling like the fool he was. McGonagall was also glaring at me she clearly blamed me for this. Ha, good luck proving it. I’m not even doing it anymore so even if Dumbledore investigated he would find nothing. Which might actually worry him more but fuck him I can blow up this castle if I wanted to.
“You going to tell me how you are doing that.” She asked as she inspected her nails.
“Potion.” I gave her the smugest smile I was capable of and she just smiled back at me.
“Well, that’s a surprise who could have guessed that?” She spoke out blandly.
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: That works out. So can I make another deal with you?]
Wonder what she wanted? Her asking permission to make a deal with me was amusing. She was rather skittish. I can’t exactly blame her for it. Like I said there are only so many ways someone can get themselves in such a fucked up position.
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: You don’t have to ask for permission. You can ask me whatever you want and I’ll consider it.]
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: Alright. So me and my brother are quarantined because we got infected by parasites. Can you cure us for the rest of my points?]
Alright, who the fuck is she. She was infected by parasites? I thought with my Luck I would get members I was familiar with but I have zero idea who the fuck she was. Whatever I’ll find out eventually. Still, I did not expect her to still be in dire straits. She seemed rather lucky so why was she in such a shit position.
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: I should be able to do something about that. Is it a mundane parasite? If so, I can deal with it quickly. If not I would need to gather ingredients. Either way, I can do it but it might take a little while. I will hurry it along since you are in a tough spot.]
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: Uh I don’t know. Before I got this Chat Group I thought I lived in a regular world but you said Magicals hide from the normal world. So maybe it is magical. Is there a way to find out?]
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: Yes, you can send me a sample of blood. With that I should be capable of making a proper diagnosis.]
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: Thank you so much. It would take a whole load off of my mind.]
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: Your gratitude is unneeded, You and I are simply doing a transaction. You wish for a cure and I am more than able to provide that. It would be a rather unpleasant experience to lose you now. :) ]
It’s not really worth the points she is offering to cure them. On the other hand, I have gathered some good will with her already so letting her die would be a waste. She is a member of the Chat Group which means she has the potential to be rather powerful. From what I have read she already had an S-tier ability. I knew exactly how overpowered such abilities can be one look at the Star Burster Star Blaster could showcase that.
“So no more information for your favorite Slytherin?” I just snorted at her declaration. She was my favorite but that was not exactly a hard title to earn. She came out far ahead in that race. Not that anyone else was really participating in said race. Lucius tried but he was not exactly a friendly face. More of a branch towards pureblood society.
“It is from a potion I developed. One that is best not to talk about.” I looked back at her with a teasing glint in my eyes. I knew she would accept that as a reason but she would not be happy with it. She was fishing for information and I have been just vaguely revealing I was a lot more skilled than anyone thought. The razor sharp focus of her eyes could tell me that. I liked her but I was not willing to deal with the fall out if the world found out what I could do. Sure I was not in danger but they could become rather annoying.
“How did you slip it to Avery then?” The focus in her eyes increased even further. Narcissa may be a perfect pureblood princess but let no one doubt that she was dangerous. It came from being a part of such a dangerous family. If Sirius even carried a hint of this danger I would have died and been buried ages ago. Instead, the fool followed Potter like a lost puppy doing stupid shit. I guess I should just be thankful that he ignored any and all lessons he was taught.
Her question really reached the center of the matter. To effectively poison a Pureblood heir with no one being the wiser is a dangerous skill to have. It was even more remarkable considering everyone and their mothers knew I would take revenge with Potions. So how was I dopping the Marauders and Avery so effectively?
I knew I was not drugging them but that was an even scarier option to demonstrate. It implied that no matter who got my ire they would find themselves facing a series of unfortunate events. With not a thing they could do to defend themselves. I have demonstrated that I could kill them rather easily if I wanted to so it was not limited to schoolyard bullying. Revealing that would paint me as something far beyond dangerous. So I could only give her a teasing grin and shrug.
She huffed at me once more.
“Fine keep your secrets.” She did not sound fine with me doing so but what could she do about it?
[User Likely To Fuck Her Brother has sent you a gift would you like to open it?]
[Yes.] [No.]
I closed the window as blood appearing suddenly in front of me would be rather strange. Not to mention I was going to have to create an area to inspect it with out risking infection. I was not going to be responsible for a zombie outbreak because I was foolish.
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: Alright I will get to inspecting the sample in a moment. I will just have to establish a zone to inspect it. I do not wish to risk infection.]
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: I did not even think about that. I’m so sorry!]
Hmm nothing to be really sorry about. Sure if I was gung ho about this it could have caused issues. That did not happen so it was not really her fault. If I offered to help anything involved with risk should be my responsibility. Only an idiot interacts with potentially infectious material with out thinking about it. Still, she is far too skittish for my tastes. It was honestly bugging me a little bit. From my understanding, she has never dealt with anything magical so she kept a respectful attitude out of fear. I feel like I did nothing to warrant such caution but I got it.
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: Hey no worries I thought it through before accepting your request. I won’t claim to be infallible but I can think ahead a fair bit. You don’t need to treat me as if I’m a sleeping dragon. Relax I won’t bite your head off if you don’t kiss the ground beneath my feet.]
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: Relax, yeah I can do that. It’s just so much you know.]
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: I can only imagine that everything came as a rather large shock. So I get it but the whole kissing my ass bit would be more annoying than if you slighted me. As long as you don’t repeatedly threaten to impale me we are cool.]
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: I was not kissing your ass! I was just feeling things out!]
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: In comparison to the girl who called someone else a cunt it felt like ass kissing. I would much rather you be the crass Bro-con that you are.]
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: See it’s shit like that, that made me think you would want the whole polite stick. Who the fuck says crass? I know you are not a medieval knight so keep up with the times.]
I stopped to think that over. I was mixing between how I spoke from my two lives. Speaking in a certain manner was the norm in Slytherin. It was only when she brought it up that I really thought it over. It was nothing that would really bother me but it was nice to notice it.
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: I will try to tone it down. I am just so used to speaking in a certain manner. Since you saw my tirade against Arrow you should know I am not as uptight as I present myself. In the end, she was annoying enough that she brought me out of it. :) ]
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: You are not really helping your case. I should expect this since you are apparently a prince. So how does it feel like having hot air blown up your ass.]
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: I don’t really know. I am not exactly royalty. So no one has been inflating my ego except you so far.]
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: Huh, you are not nobility? You were putting off that type of vibe. ]
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: I mean I am but only in name.]
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: Which means?]
I looked at the chat as I thought. Did I really want to get into my past? It’s not really anything to be ashamed about it even if I hated certain aspects of it. So very few people wanted to know more about me. Not that I offered myself up like an open book. I was an introverted animal through and through. I suppose it does not really hurt me in the long haul to open up. It might even help me work through how I feel about it.
(Ashley Graves P.O.V)
Maybe she should not have asked that? He was taking a long time to respond. She was used to putting her foot in her mouth but this time she might have really fucked it. She let her guard down when he asked her to relax. He did not seem to mind it much when she cussed so she allowed more of herself out. She never knew what it was like to have a good life so she asked what it was like. It turned out he was not even a Prince. That threw her through a loop cause of how he acted. Then he just let slip some interesting shit. So she asked about it. Was that too much? Was he going to smite her?
She bit her lip nervously she did not want to blow this when he was going to help them with the parasites. She felt like she had everything going well for her and now she felt dread again. Sure she was a Demi-God now but that would not save Andy. At the rate she got points she would not be able to cure them anytime soon.
Should she ask for help from someone else? The feminine cock guy was apparently like her with no experience with magic so he would be no help. Was she going to have to deal with those magical cunts? She really did not want to but she would if it meant saving Andy’s life.
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: My ties to nobility come from my mother. She was the heir to the Prince name. Instead of doing the proper thing and marrying other nobility, she chose to marry a mundane man who worked in a factory. It led to a rather large fall out between my mother and her family. So I never experienced the life nobility would bring me.]
Oh, thank god she did not screw this up. The weight fell off of her shoulders as she read. She looked over what he sent and she rolled her eyes at the fairy tale sounding backstory. His mother apparently married for love against all odds. The kind of Disney channel bullshit that they tried to shove down her throat.
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: Wow that sounds like something from a fairy tale.]
She wanted to be more mocking about it but she was already treading unknown waters. The world taught her that Disney's bullshit was not real. Still, she was not going to shit on the guy who holds her brother’s life in his hands. Even if she scoffed at the dumb shit.
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: I am sure that is what my mother thought as well. She was wrong.]
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: The man she thought she loved lost his job. He then drank himself into a stupor every day and night. That was who the man I call father was.]
That got her interested again. That fit her world view. There was no picture perfect fairy tale ending. Not for anyone. Not for them and not for her.
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: I grew up with that. My mother chasing after a man who was no longer there. If he was just a drunkard than I could accept her idiocy. Sadly he was not, he grew resentful of magic so he tried to snuff it out of me and my mother.]
That made sense to her. She was starting to understand why he was a monster like her. She was capable enough to read the blatant subtext he was abused. Tumbling him into a cycle of abuse and blaming both of his parents for it. The world was against him so he did what he had to. Yes, she could see how he was created.
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: I think I understand why you are the Red-Head Obsessed Prince. She is someone irreplaceable to you.]
She was familiar with how she was made. She could see the building blocks from a mile away. It was weird seeing it. Like looking at your self in one of those circus mirrors. Clearly still you but distorted in a way that it became unfamiliar. She did not feel bad for him but she felt something. She was just having trouble explaining what she felt.
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: She was… She was like a lighthouse in the stormy seas.]
She could relate oh so closely to that. What was she without Andy? Nothing, she might as well be drowning in that sea.
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: The day I met her I will never forget. She was swinging as hard as she could on the swing set. I was barely paying attention as I passed. Then she let go and flew through the air. I was shocked. I panicked was I about to see this random girl break her skull open? Then I saw her float down slowly. At that moment I knew she was just like me. A magical person trapped in this mundane world.]
[Red-Head Obessed Prince: She did not know anything about magic so I introduced her to the world. To see someone be so ecstatic about magic was intoxicating. It was no longer something not spoken out of fear. It was not something to be suppressed. It was a part of me. It was a part of her and it was oh so beautiful. On that day I tied myself to her so desperately.]
The girl was his salvation. The only thing that could or would matter. She saw it as clear as day. She wanted to ask so many things. To see exactly how much the two of them shared. To see if he was really a monster like her. A kindred black soul. Would it be too much? Would she be messing this up? If he was not like her would he abandon her? Throwing away whatever kindness he has shown when seeing what kind of beast she was. She saw the signs. She was so sure she was right but what if she was not? Could she risk that? She made a decision even if it was impulsive.
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: Would you kill for her?]
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: Yes.]
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: If the world was after her?]
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: Then the world would burn.]
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: If your family was threatening her?]
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: I would take care of it.]
[Likely To Fuck Her Brother: Would you die for her?]
[Red-Head Obsessed Prince: Without hesitation.]
Yes, yes he was exactly the same kind of monster. His soul just as dark as hers. Like an abyss that will swallow everything to get what it wants. She smiled happily at that dealing with someone like her was so much easier. She knew what button would enrage him. What line must not be crossed. Anything else she did or said was irrelevant. She might actually make another friend.
Today was even better than she thought it was!
