Into the Light

An enlightening conversation

Within two weeks, all the necessary arrangements had been made and Christopher spent his days with Michael, who took him to the Ministry of Magic every Friday where there was a hearing and new assessment of the boy. Despite Severus' strong dislike of this procedure, his son returned each time in good spirits, sharing with never wavering enthusiasm of his experience. An achievement, for which Severus didn't credit the wizards that were responsible for the assessment at the Ministry, but Michael, who, with great dedication endeavored to protect Christopher not only from outward influences, but also from those that the young wizard carried within himself.

Severus' initial worries abated slowly when he saw that Christopher was still the normal boy, who didn't prance proudly through Hogwarts, boasting of his abilities. On the contrary, Christopher treated the other students as he had always done and didn't take his abilities for granted. His knowledge grew steadily, and the many small and remarkable advances that his son made, as well as the invariably positive reports from the Ministry of Magic caused Severus to gain assurance that his son's future would be well. The one-time insight into the darker side which his son carried within himself, had put Severus in terror for some time. But gradually, his hope became stronger that for as long as the good qualities outweighed and were supported, the dark ones wouldn't develop any further.

Michael was a Gryffindor, a fact that had a certain influence on Severus' son, who had become more daring and had developed an even deeper sense of chivalry. The daring part was the one that caused Severus concerns, yet Michael reassured him every time Severus addressed this topic that a good mix of different character traits could in fact create the perfect balance. And he pointed out that Christopher carried enough features of a true Slytherin within himself. Christopher was incredibly ambitious and smart, and they shared the opinion that Christopher owed it to his sense of self-preservation that he had manage to keep his magical abilities secret for so long. Michael saw no problem in the fact that Christopher acquired some characteristics through his constant association with a Gryffindor. He kept saying that association shaped a person and that it was in the interest of all concerned if Christopher acquired different characteristics.

The boy's secrecy regarding magical matters had caused everyone concern, yet after the incident that had involved Christopher's mother being injured, Christopher had become more open and didn't hesitate to tell Michael about changes that happened within himself. After half a year had passed, Christopher had to go to the Ministry only every two weeks, and another half a year later only once a month. This development gave Severus and Julie confidence, and they assumed that everything was alright with their son.

However, all this eased Severus' everyday life little because he always found new things that bothered him immensely. One of these things bore a name; Nicholas Wood, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher that Albus had employed. Severus could not quite understand what Albus had been thinking when he had hired the wizard. Not only did Nicholas Wood look attractive, no, he was also charming and every student at Hogwarts liked him, including all the teachers except for Severus, of course.

Severus had developed a dislike for the new addition to Hogwarts staff the moment he had seen Nicholas. It drove him mad when he hurried home after class only to find that Nicholas was already there, standing in Severus' small potions room, talking to Julie in a friendly manner while she was busy brewing potions. And that happened far more often than Severus liked.

Once again Severus hastened from the potion's classroom back to his office. The stupid laugh of Nicholas rang in his ears before he had managed to close the door of his office. With a growl Severus left the door open as a hint for the professor, whom he found as he had expected, with his wife.

"All I could do was watch on and there he went again, high up in the air." Nicholas said, chuckling as he gestured with his hand toward the ceiling.