Homemade Ghosts | s. snape

Homemade Ghosts

| extended summary |

When Hazel returns to Hogwarts after leaving it ten years before, she immediately finds herself being haunted.

Not haunted by the castle's gloomy ghosts or the pesky poltergeist she'd never quite got on her side, but by the way she'd found it eerily identical to how she left it. There are still piles of essays she needs to attend to (she's marking them this time rather than turning them in, but it's hardly better). McGonagall is still a Quidditch fanatic (although, now Hazel can enjoy the occasional chat with her about Gryffindor's team over a glass of scotch). Dumbledore is still headmaster, forever telling Hazel to do things she would rather not do while insisting it's all for the best. He hasn't changed at all.

Now that the castle is out of stasis, Hazel keeps running into her past around every corner of its convoluted corridors. She constantly finds memories of when people knew her as James Potter's little sister, back when people still called her Mina. Or, if they wanted her to jinx them, Wilhelmina. No one has called her either name in a decade, and the ghosts she finds of herself are almost unrecognizable.

James is here, too. Usually, she finds memories of him out on the Quidditch pitch, or of him sitting beneath a beech tree with his friends.

These ghosts, though, are mere shadows compared to the one Harry Potter carries on his face. Hazel's nephew is a near-perfect copy of her brother (apart from Lily's bottle green eyes). And, without realizing, he haunts her most viciously of all. To Hazel, Harry is the last family she has; to Harry, Hazel is the friendly Ancient Runes professor.

It's lonely.

Speaking of lonely, Severus Snape is here too. Hazel's not sure what category he's in exactly. She remembers him faintly as a caustic, hateful creep who was constantly at war with James and his band of marauders. And, with a miniature version of Hazel's brother haplessly roaming about the castle again, it doesn't seem like Snape has changed much either. He appears to find a phantom James in Harry also—and he's holding a serious grudge against it.

So, Hazel is shocked when she finds that her strongest ally in her effort to keep Harry from prematurely joining James in the afterlife is...Snape.

Despite the odd turn of events, she is willing to move on from the past and work with him. Snape is less amenable to this idea—it's clear he still only sees her as James's little sister. Unfortunately for him, though, Harry's penchant for finding mortal peril won't let him get away from Hazel for long, and she slowly begins to see the ghosts that riddle Snape's life too.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Hazel Eliot

(formerly known as Wilhelmina Potter)

"I've got the key to my castle in the air, but whether I can unlock the door remains to be seen."

Louisa May Alcott, Little Women (1868)

──────

Severus Snape

(formerly known as a Death Eater)

"Lone, wild, and strange, he stood alike exempt
From all affection and from all contempt"

Lord Byron, The Corsair (1814)

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Hi! Thank you for checking out Homemade Ghosts. Just a few heads-up before we begin: This story is based on the books, and I'm trying to follow canon pretty closely. Beyond that, I've taken bits and pieces from Pottermore as needed (such as James's parents being named Fleamont and Euphemia), but not everything will be the same (such as the Potter's wealth having nothing to do with Sleakeazy's Hair Potion).

Additionally, this is indeed a Snape x oc story, but, reader, I need to warn you that it really is going to take time (super slowburn). This is Severus Snape, after all. So, the whole thing won't revolve solely around Hazel and Severus. It's just as much focuses on Hazel's life returning to Hogwarts, being a teacher, dealing with her past, and getting to know Harry.