FIC: Contagious (PG)
Title: Contagious
Type: Fic
Age-Range Category: Four
Character: Severus Snape
Author: blueartemis07
Rating: PG
Summary: Severus Snape didn't die in the Shrieking Shack, but what did happen?
Harry Potter had shown Kingsley and Minerva his memories after the battle. Severus Snape had been exonerated within 24 hours. They planned to at least honor him with a wizarding funeral. But his body wasn't in the Great Hall.
So, Hermione and Ron went back to the Shrieking Shack to find and return Severus Snape's body, but it was gone.
There were some odd trails in the dust on the floor.
"Looks like a giant snake slithered off with him," Ron said. "Seems fitting, don't it?"
Hermione smacked him. "That is terrible, Ronald! And where would a snake large enough to drag a man away come from? Harry already killed the Basilisk!"
Severus Snape heard them from his perch in the beams of the Shrieking Shack. When Nagini struck him, instead of killing him, as her venom usually did to her victims, it changed him.
There hadn't been much said of those with creature inheritances. It had mostly been bred out of magical British society. But somewhere deep in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries, one of the Unspeakables kept track of which "Muggles" found and procreated with one of the magicals. All of them had traces of magic in their blood, like recessive genes.
Tobias Snape was descended from one of the nagas. The real nagas, the ones from India; not like poor Nagini who was named for her curse.
So, when Nagini bit Severus in the Shrieking Shack, she didn't kill him, rather, she jump started his creature inheritance. He was in the shape of a traditional naga, with a humanoid upper half and serpentine lower half. There were stories of them being able to shift fully to human or snake shape, but unfortunately for Severus, he had no idea how to change his shape.
"We really should have had aerial fighters. Here is the brightest witch of her age, and she didn't bother to look up!" came a deep voice from the rafters.
Both Ron and Hermione startled badly and shot stunners at the voice.
"You missed!" laughed Snape. He was rather delighted by how fast he could move. "I assume you are here to arrest me?"
"We aren't aurors. We are here to bring you back to give you a decent burial. But you aren't dead. So, I'm not sure what we are supposed to do." said Ron
"Well, I'm sure that since he isn't dead, he will still be exonerated, Ron." Hermione stated, then looked up at Snape. Do you mind coming back with us?" Hermione asked, biting her upper lip.
Ron turned to Hermione, mouth agape. He shook his head then said, "Seriously, 'Mione, the man turned into a half snake after Nagini bit him. Maybe he's contagious!"
"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Ron! I'm sure this is just some curse or another. There are plenty of healers and Unspeakables and who knows who else all over the place. Someone should be able to help!"
Ron looked over at Snake-Snape, and they shared a look of mutual exasperation and ungracious surrender, and fell into step (slither?) behind Hermione who had sent off a Patronus ahead of herself and was now marching determinedly toward the castle.
The unlikely group was met at the door to the Great Hall by Minerva McGonnagal, Bill, Fleur, two Unspeakables, Poppy Pomfrey and both Weasley parents.
Everyone stared unabashedly when Snape started to twirl for the many wands being waved at him.
"He's a Naga!" said one Unspeakable.
"Anyone could see that," said the second Unspeakable.
"No, a true Naga! One of the guardians of old. There must have been some in his bloodline, ages ago! It looks like the venom from that snake of Voldemort's triggered a creature inheritance," said the first Unspeakable.
"She was originally a woman, under a Maledictus curse. And she'd met Dumbledore years before she was permanently locked into her shape as a python. I don't know what magics Riddle did to her in order to give her venom," said Snape.
Both Unspeakables turned back from their whispered conversation to look at Snape.
"How do you know that?" they said in unison.
"I don't know. Maybe I got it from her bite. I did have the antidote, but it took a while for Potter and his minions to get to me," he replied.
"I am not a minion!"
"Side-kick, maybe, but not a minion."
"Tomato tomahtoh." Snape stuck his tongue out at said minions.
"You are acting quite differently, Severus. Are you certain you are fine?" asked Arthur.
"I'm free, Arthur. No insane puppet masters holding my strings, doing their best to draw and quarter me through their machinations," he responded.
Poppy decided it was a good time to start doing a diagnostic.
"You know, Professor," said Bill, "Nagas can look wholly human or wholly serpentine. They don't have to keep to the shape you are."
Snape raised his eyebrow. "You don't say, Weasley. If I knew how, then I would do so."
Minerva cut in. "If I remember my mythology correctly, you should be able to see magic. Watch me shift, Severus." She quickly shifted into her cat shape and back.
Severus watched her closely, nodded to himself, then shifted into a rather handsome large black serpent, followed closely by his human form, but not as it was, overworked, underslept and potioned. Instead, he looked very healthy, if pale. And naked.
"Och, show some decorum!" snapped Minerva as she waved her wand and put Severus in a nice plaid robe. "Next time imagine your clothes shifted with you."
"Well, you are perfectly healthy, Severus," said Poppy, interrupting before the whole thing devolved more than it already had. "You can do as you like."
"Considering the wards aren't letting go, I am guessing I'm being forced to be Headmaster," he responded. "If I'm allowed, I would like to unward my room and office and then start assisting with the clean up."
She was about to respond, when they were interrupted by Ron.
"Hey Dad, I guess we really aren't children of Cernunnos, or you'd have horns, right now," said Ron. "Guess Aunt Muriel was wrong."
Molly gaped, then turned to Arthur, who shook his head. "No, of course not, Ron, that is a myth."
Snape burst out laughing when Bill said, "Is that why you won't go to Gringotts?"