The-Man-Most-Unfortunate (I) [Chapter 178]

~~Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire~~

Severus Snape stared at the looming mansion with a bit of trepidation inside his mind. Unlike his usual visits, tonight he decided to enter the house through the front door, instead of using the Floo as he was feeling a bit uneasy… He felt like he was walking right into a spider’s net. He unconsciously patted his robes to ensure he was carrying the Portkey Albus gave him in case of an emergency.

They weren’t expecting anything to happen in the first place, but they couldn’t be sure about anything, especially with just how strong Harry- no, Hadrian Potter truly was. Then there was the fact that something was going on with the Malfoys… Lucius wasn’t answering to the Dark Lord’s summons and he was also keeping distance from the rest of the Death Eaters in the Ministry, which wasn’t anything like Lucius.

Draco was also having a hard time at school… He had been keeping an eye on the boy as his Godfather, but Severus knew that he couldn’t be everywhere, nor could he keep an eye on the boy all around the clock… While Draco wasn’t being attacked physically, he was being verbally harassed by his year mates and his seniors. Before the return of the Dark Lord, Draco used to be the leader of the Slytherin House even though he was only a fourth year, but he lost his clout after Lucius was declared a traitor.

Severus had tried to inform both Lucius and Narcissa of this development, but both of them seemed to be oddly dismissive of the incidents… Lucius and Narcissa may not be a good couple, but they did have something in common. The love for their son… So, he expected either of them to show even a bit of concern, but neither of them did… Their casual indifference probably hurt Darco more than the verbal harassment from his peers.

Even though Draco was showing a strong front to everyone, Severus knew that it was far from the truth. Draco wasn’t as strong as everyone believed him to be…

Severus finally arrived at the doorstep of the manor and took a deep breath before knocking on the door. Moments later, the door was opened and he was greeted by the new Malfoy house elf. “Please follow Alef, everyone else bes waiting for Master Snapey” The house elf invited him inside. While Severus didn’t appreciate being called Snapey, there was very little he could do to change that since house elves were just like that.

The house elf led him to the dining hall and since he already knew his way inside the manor, he didn’t exactly require a guide, but house elves were supposed to guide the guests. It was one of those weird Pureblood traditions…

“Severus! How have you been my friend?” Severus was joyfully greeted by Lucius, but even a fool could see that the man was basically putting up an act.

‘Are they really under Potter’s control?’ Severus wondered inside his mind while he greeted Lucius back. Though before he could say anything else, Narcissa also arrived at the dining hall, looking as stoic as ever.

“Hello, Severus” Narcissa greeted him politely before she held out her hand.

‘Typical Narcissa’ Severus mused internally as he grabbed her hand and brushed his lips against the back of her hand. “Good evening, Narcissa. How have you been?” Severus asked, in an attempt to gauge the water. Even though he wasn’t using Legilimency, he was experienced enough to tell if someone was lying to him or not.

“I had been better, but in some regards, I am better than ever” Narcissa answered softly with her patented polite smile on her face.

‘That was not a lie’ Severus decided internally, but he didn’t miss the momentary scowl on Lucius’ face, which was replaced by an equally brief look of fear on his face before his expression returned to normal. Severus couldn’t help but wonder the reason behind such a reaction from the man. Was the Potter brat really responsible for the man’s fears?

“Ah… Severus Snape, the youngest Potion Master in the World, but not the most pleasant man to be around” The newest arrival spoke in a grating voice.

‘Speak of the devil’ Severus growled inside his mind as he turned to head toward the newest arrival. His eyes were very similar to Lily’s, but at the same time, his eyes were pretty different. ‘His eyes are more vibrant than her eyes’ Moments later, Severus decided, but he couldn’t ignore the rest of the face. The boy looked so similar to his father that it wasn’t even funny.

“Just as arrogant and entitled as James Potter. I shouldn’t have expected anything different from his spawn” Severus sneered at the boy, but the boy didn’t seem to be bothered by his words in the slightest. “The others might feel entitled to you for whatever reason, don’t expect me to do the same” Severus added with a drawl in an attempt to get a rise out of the boy, but once again, the boy didn’t seem to react to his words.

“Whatever you say, Death Eater” Harry answered back with a smile on his face and Severus wasn’t able to hold back his shock at those words.

Severus immediately glanced toward Lucius and Narcissa, but neither of them looked like they were going to chastise the boy for his outrageous behavior. Though, Lucius was no longer sporting his fake smile and he could notice pity in Narcissa’s eyes. Now, it was pretty obvious to him, both Lucius and Narcissa were under the boy’s thumb. Severus realized that he needed to handle the situation very carefully.

Alas, his ego was screaming at him to get back at the boy for the previous insult and there was no way he was going to let James Potter’s spawn insult him and then walk away unscathed…

“How dare you…” Severus snarled, but his mouth was forcefully snapped shut before he could continue, which shocked him to the core because the boy didn’t have a Wand in his hand.

“I will call you whatever I want, ‘Death Eater’” Harry emphasized the words slowly with an amused look on his face.

Severus snarled in anger at the boy and went for his Wand, but before he could even raise his Wand, he was disarmed. With wide eyes, he stared at his Wand, which sailed through the air and landed in the boy’s waiting palm. ‘This shouldn’t be possible’ Severus gasped internally in horror. Then a foreign pressure engulfed his body and he was brought down to his knees.

“From what I know, you Death Eaters have a good habit of kneeling. So, obviously, you should kneel in front of your betters” Harry bit out slowly while twirling the Wand in his hand.

Severus balefully glared at the boy, but he didn’t lose himself in rage, at least not this time. He knew he was in a bad position and neither Lucius nor Narcissa were going to help him, that much was pretty obvious from their looks. Though Severus was glad that he wasn’t immobilized, at least not completely. He could still move his hands and the boy probably never bothered to restrain him in his blinding arrogance, and that was going to be his undoing.

The boy was powerful, inhumanly so… That much Severus was able to deduce, even though it was really scathing to admit. The boy was not someone he could defeat and the way he was spamming Wandless Magic, maybe he was stronger than both Dumbledore and Voldemort. If the boy managed to take them by surprise then he would be able to easily defeat them and from the looks of it, he already had Dumbledore fooled as the man believed Hadrian to be weaker than him.

No, he couldn’t allow that to happen… The boy might have Lily’s eyes, but he was James Potter incarnate through and through. He couldn’t let him win… At least, not on his watch. He needed to escape so that he could inform both Dumbledore and the Dark Lord about his true power. There were other questions in his mind, like ‘How did the boy manage to become so strong?’, but it wasn’t the time for that.

He could ask those questions later… Right now, he needed to escape.

“What? Nothing to say, Death Eater?” Harry asked in a cheerful tone. “Ohh… Ohhh… Sorry, my bad. Allow me” Harry chuckled softly as he acted to remember that he had silenced the man. He snapped his fingers and Severus felt that he could move his jaw again.

Severus mumbled something under his breath, making Harry frown… “I am sorry… What was that?” Harry asked curiously as he leaned forward so that he could hear what the man was mumbling.

Severus moved in a fluid motion as he drew a dagger from his robe and went to stab Harry with it, but much to the surprise of everyone, he stopped the dagger with two fingers. Once again, Severus was surprised and he could only stare at the dagger with wide eyes, but he knew he couldn’t dwindle anymore… He had wasted his opportunity to flee. He wanted to stab the boy to distract him, but his ploy obviously fell apart.

“That was a good attempt” Harry complimented with a grin.

“Phoenix ascending!” Severus snarled, but nothing happened. He blinked in confusion as he looked down at his hand. When he drew the dagger from within his robes, he also used his other hand to grab the Portkey given to him by Albus. The Portkey was supposed to take him through the Wards, but nothing happened.

“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk…” Harry clicked his tongue with a mocking look on his face. “Did you really think that I would let you escape?” Harry asked sharply, but now, both of them knew that it was a rhetorical question…