[Chapter Size: 2300 Words.]
Third Person POV
Atlantic.
...
...
The Atlanteans were working to clean up all the mess the monsters had caused in the city around the royal palace.
There were countless houses and buildings destroyed, with many comrades dead during the battle, pulling some bodies from the wreckage all around. The city finally calmed down at that moment, with the civilians on the other side after trying to evacuate the kingdom.
There were many doubts about what had just happened to the kingdom.
The king himself was still stunned, listening to his men speak about the reports, while his eyes did not leave a figure a few meters away, sitting on a pile of broken bones, calmly watching the Atlanteans tending to the city. Even some of his shadows were removing stones and searching for a few people still alive but buried.
It wasn't every day that extraterrestrial monsters attacked the kingdom. He couldn't remember such a crisis occurring in Atlantis for a very long time throughout history. After all, Atlantis had been safe and peaceful for centuries.
They were lucky that the crisis hadn't escalated into something that could have caused irreparable damage, since that man had appeared and managed to reverse a battle they were clearly struggling to fight, losing ground to the creatures even with all their weapons.
Yet, doubt still lingered in the king's mind. Even though the man had introduced himself before, who really was that human? How did he have so much power? How did he know how to deal with those monsters so easily? His explanation hadn't helped much, saying only that a painting had created a portal, and that this portal had broken, sending monsters out of it.
The Englishman had also refused to say anything about his strange powers. He said he had already spoken about it during the trial, and that if they wanted to know, they should seek information from the people who were there, for he wouldn't repeat himself. He would have to speak with Vicência Santos. He had been a bit arrogant, but could the king of Atlantis do anything other than acknowledge that the man had saved the kingdom and pulled them out of a crisis? Would Atlantis have the power to fight against a man who had destroyed all those monsters, just to get more answers from him?
Besides, no one knew how those powers worked. Those shadows… that entire army he had summoned out of nowhere, rising from beneath his feet, and then simply returning to him afterward. That man carried an army within his own body. It was disturbing that someone possessed such power, living on the surface.
His daughter was also by his side, keeping her eyes on the man called Severus Prince. She had told him afterward that she had a conversation with Lord Prince when they first met, and how he had asked about her, interested in what kind of kingdom she lived in.
Now, he was there in Atlantis, saying he would be leaving soon to settle things in England. There was nothing left for him there. He also spoke about wanting to search through all the paintings in the kingdom to find any other portal that could break and cause another attack. He said he would discuss it with his men, since the situation was quite confusing with so much information.
"Father." His daughter called him, while he kept his thoughts on the man and listened, half-heartedly, to the report about the kingdom's damages and casualties.
He asked his men for silence and turned to his daughter.
"I think you should let him search through the paintings. It's better for him to deal with it than for us to be attacked again. We might not be so lucky next time," Thalindra said.
"And I don't ever want to have another one of those shadows beside me all the time, like he did," she added.
"All right. If you wish to speak with him, you may grant permission for him to search the entire kingdom," he said at last, as Severus lifted his gaze upon seeing Thalindra approach.
"Lord Prince," she called.
"Princess Thalindra," he said.
"I spoke with my father. You have permission to search all the paintings in the kingdom," she said.
"Great," was all he said, before his shadow suddenly exploded in every direction. Several shadows began to run throughout the kingdom, surprising the princess, the king, and all the soldiers and officers present. The shadows passed through houses and streets, searching, as the magical paintings could be potential rupture points.
She sighed, stunned. "That was unexpected," she murmured, while Severus remained calm.
"Hey, man," a voice came from the side — the princess's guardian, approaching with his weapon in hand as always, but a smile on his face as he drew closer. "I know we had our differences back in Great Britain, but here there's no doubt: you saved the people. I thank you for your service." Severus merely nodded in response.
"And what was the result of the trial? From what I saw, you left before it ended," another voice came — it was the old man with the magic staff, the princess's advisor.
"I don't know," Severus replied, "but I doubt they issued a warrant for my arrest. Great Britain itself can't deal with me — and the IWC already knows that." He shrugged.
A few moments later, the shadows began to return; they had searched the entire kingdom — which, though not a country, was a vast submerged city. The shadows had been quick enough to inspect everything.
"You have three portals within this kingdom," Severus warned. "If you wish, I can cleanse them myself before they break." He explained that, over time, the paintings could release monsters, as had happened before.
The king approached then, after hearing the information about the portals and his daughter's concerns. "Then there are monsters. We would like you to act, if you can."
"I'll be back soon," said Severus.
Before anyone could react, he disappeared, without informing the king where he was going. Severus was satisfied with the painting that had broken and with the monsters he had managed to defeat; he had captured crystals and gained a few more shadows for his army. He wasn't very interested in the monsters from those portals since he knew they were weak, but there were still some resources he wanted from those portals — and somehow, there were many mana crystals inside the paintings of Atlantis. Why not take advantage of them? He began cleansing the paintings more quickly, preventing them from causing more deaths in that kingdom if they were to break.
Great Britain was astonished when the result of Severus Prince's trial was released at the end of the day. Many had expected it to last for days, perhaps weeks, and were stunned when they were met with the final verdict.
Severus had been acquitted. There were no longer any charges against him. All the damage he had caused — and the deaths — were classified as "necessary" to save Great Britain from Voldemort and his followers.
It was declared that Severus Prince had no intention of taking over the country as a new Dark Lord. On the contrary, he had fought alone against what the Ministry and some secret organizations, such as the Order of the Phoenix, had tried to combat for years.
In the end, what many had expected — that he would be declared a criminal, a murderer, and condemned to Azkaban — did not happen. He was even declared a hero.
The Dark Hero, as many newspaper headlines called him, also highlighting his power.
"The necromancer who saved Great Britain."
"Severus Prince claims our world will be the stage for a battle between beings from beyond the planet. Do you believe it?"
"'I'm the only one who can fight them' — Severus speaks about the Monarchs."
"Who are the Monarchs that Severus Prince says intend to destroy humanity?"
"What is the Order, mentioned during the trial, that this Morou was part of?"
"Morou or Snape — a man who possesses two souls!"
"Monster or savior?"
"Declared to receive the Medal of the First Order of Merlin!"
The headlines went on, one after another, depending on the newspaper. Numerous reporters wrote stories about what they had heard and seen during the trial, trying to explore every topic discussed to engage the public.
Severus Prince might have been declared a hero and even invited to receive the First-Class Order of Merlin Medal, but doubts remained. The more people read about the details of the trial, the more uneasy they became.
After all, upon reading what had truly been said — about an ancient war between demons and angels and about the Order, about Morou, about the two souls Severus Prince shared, about the world being the stage of a monster invasion, about the portals within paintings that he hunted with his six secret identities — fear only grew.
All of this left people even more apprehensive about the future. Some said it was all an invention, an excuse to get away with everything. Others believed it, especially after all they had seen happen — and they couldn't help but panic, wondering what, after all, would be the fate of the world.
"Hero? How can he be a hero?" shouted a student in the Gryffindor common room as he read the newspaper. Everyone fell silent. It was none other than Potter, staring in disbelief at the pages of the papers.
"Portals, monsters, beings from another world... That Severus we knew is dead... and that Morou, he merged with him..."
Lupin couldn't help but murmur with a hint of unease, looking at the headlines while swallowing hard. "No wonder he had changed so much. Our pranks didn't work on him anymore. No wonder he beat me up so easily when you sent him to the Whomping Willow... That full moon night." Lupin shuddered.
He had been beaten while transformed into a werewolf — by Severus — using only his fists. His gaze lifted, ignoring the Marauders' arguing. Peter was still trembling with fear, worried about possible retaliation from Severus after years of taunts and humiliation.
Those who had fought in the final war also seemed divided. Many looked horrified at the reports, some trying to remain neutral, others as outraged as Potter and Black, who refused to accept what they were reading.
"Good thing he never came back. I wouldn't want to study with that monster in this school!" said one of the seventh-year girls.
"I think he's a hero," another replied.
"You've got to be kidding!" retorted a boy, horrified, while Lupin still glanced around. "Where's Lily? Has anyone seen Lily Evans?" he asked.
"She must be in her room," another replied.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the castle, Clarice Greengrass read the newspaper in silence. She already knew that information — everything had been told to her by Severus. She pressed the ring on her finger, remembering his words: that he was no longer just the old Severus Snape, but still, he was himself — the same boy she had fallen in love with. She knew he wanted to save the world and believed in him.
She ignored all the looks cast her way as people whispered in the Slytherin common room and turned their faces when she stared back.
In the Ravenclaw common room, Pandora seemed pleased, a wide smile on her face as she looked at the newspaper, ignoring the glances of her classmates.
Lily Evans, however, was on the third floor, in the girls' bathroom, trying to stay away from everyone. She read through a pile of newspapers she had received, keeping her eyes fixed on every line, searching for all the information.
Then she felt something move beside her and looked — it was Moaning Myrtle.
"What are you doing here?" exclaimed Myrtle.
"Sorry for coming into your bathroom, I needed to be alone," said Lily, while Myrtle looked at the newspapers, immediately recognizing Severus's name and even his picture.
"That boy... he's terrifying!" she suddenly said, making Lily stare at her in surprise.
"Severus? You know him — he comes here?" Lily asked, astonished.
"Of course he did! He used to come here to break the bathroom, my poor bathroom! Every time he showed up, he would punch the sinks, all to open a way down! He's horrible!" Myrtle wailed, sobbing loudly.
"Really?? Open a way down? Where?" Lily asked, looking around.
"There!" Myrtle pointed to the cluster of sinks in the center of the bathroom. "There seems to be an entrance there. He always came, started punching it, went inside, and stayed down there for hours before coming back. He's way too scary! Do you know him?"
"He was... a friend," murmured Lily, looking at the sinks and wondering what exactly Severus used to do there.
"He looked at me with those dangerous eyes... every time! I had to run away!" Myrtle started crying again, and Lily understood what she meant — Severus really did have that intense gaze that made anyone uncomfortable.
Lily was about to respond when a sound echoed from the sinks themselves. They began to shake, and Lily and Myrtle both jumped in fright.
"What's that?!" screamed Myrtle, flying backward.
Another explosion came from the sinks. Lily quickly stood up, setting the newspapers aside and grabbing her wand. "I don't know..."
More explosions shook the bathroom. The young woman tried to step back, but when she pointed her wand at the sinks, one of them burst violently, sending debris all over the floor.
When the dust settled, Lily looked on in horror — from the opening emerged the head of a giant ant, thrashing, trying to crawl out.
"What is that?!" was all she managed to say, as the creature pushed the stones aside and struggled to break free and crawl out.
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