Chapter Nine: Friends
It was a sunny March day a few days after the full moon. The snow had melted and the Easter holidays were approaching. It was time for the second years to choose their elective classes for next year.
Severus had an on-going problem with the arrangements at Hogwarts. He preferred to have four solid walls about him at all times, but it was hard to insure privacy inside. Even if you thought you had a corridor or an empty classroom to yourself, there was always the chance of a ghost coming through unbidden, or Peeves, not to mention a staff member or fellow student. And if there were actually pictures on the wall, forget it. It may look empty now, but the next time you looked, you might find old Nigellus Black, past Slytherin headmaster of Hogwarts, staring down at you. So although he would rather be inside, today was decent enough to go outside, and Severus wanted to talk to Lily alone.
Since Christmas, people had become accustomed to seeing the icy Slytherin and the fiery Gryffindor walking along together, immersed in conversation. Most of his fellow Slytherins thought little enough of it; she was Muggle-born and he was practically Muggle-born. By rights he should find a Muggle-born Slytherin girl, but there was no such creature these days. Not that it was that kind of relationship anyway.
Severus stood, his back covered by a large tree, methodically looking over the grounds, examining the other students running about, talking, or sitting quietly reading. It looked like most of them were outside today. Maybe it would have been better to stay inside after all.
Severus caught sight of Lily coming down from the main entrance to Hogwarts. She was in animated conversation with a couple of other Gryffindor girls, and then set off alone toward his tree. As she came towards him, he saw she wore a fierce scowl on her face. As always, it struck him how transparent Gryffindors were.
The raven haired boy bowed to the inevitable, and set aside the topic he was dying to discuss. "Somebody giving you a hard time, Evans?" he asked, frowning slightly.
"Same old shite," she growled, tapped him firmly, but briefly, on the shoulder to indicate he should follow, and stalked off on the long, circuitous path that wound around the grounds past the lake, past Hagrid's hut, and the Forbidden Forest. She had learned soon enough that the Slytherin did not appreciate being touched by anybody except close relatives.
"Which is?" asked Severus, following her. The standard response to this question was usually an evasion, but he was genuinely at a loss. He could see that other people, especially but not exclusively Gryffindors, were giving her grief for associating with him, but he could not understand why. That some people might object, he could understand, but judging from her reaction and his own observations, it was more than a few.
She stopped, folded her arms, and shook her head at him. The standard response, then. No answer. But then she seemed to come to a decision.
"You're a bully, Severus. You pick on people who have committed no offense worse than not showing 'proper respect' to Narcissa sodding Black. And all you care about is bloodlines; you suck up to any pure-blood who gives you the time of day. You're a toady."
The boy's face became completely impassive and his eyes empty. Lily was one of the few who had learned this was a sign of intense thought, not anger.
After a pause, he answered. "I know that's what the Gryffindors say." Then he added, "Especially the rich, pure-blood Gryffindors."
"Damn it, Severus, there you go again!" Lily snapped, her green eyes flashing. "Not everyone is obsessed with money and bloodlines like you Slytherins."
"Really?" He drew out the word, his lips curled up slightly in a sneer. "So tell me, when was the last time you saw a Gryffindor refuse anything to James Potter? Or Sirius Black?"
"Ancestry and wealth have nothing to do with it," she came back. "They're just ... popular." As she heard what she was saying, it suddenly didn't sound quite right.
"Fair enough. They're popular. But they can't be the only ones with that kind of popularity. Maybe in your year. But in all seven years? So why don't you just tell me about the popular Muggle-borns in Gryffindor that no one ever refuses?"
He waited while her face worked, thinking.
"Okay, that wasn't fair. By far most wizards and witches are half-blood, so just tell me about them, tell me about the half-bloods."
"Severus, I don't know everyone's bloodlines."
"No problem. As you so kindly pointed out, I do. Name someone and I'll tell you."
Lily looked at Severus, beginning to understand. "You're going to tell me that anyone I name is a pure-blood, aren't you?"
"Pretty quick for a Gryffindor," he smirked.
"But you do hex people just for looking cross-eyed at Narcissa," Lily accused.
"And Sirius Black and Potter hex people for being available," Severus snapped back. Then he seemed to frown at himself and tightened his lips. "Which doesn't change the fact that you're right. I do. I don't like it, but I do it."
"You don't like it!" Lily was outraged. "Don't you lie to me, Severus Snape. Don't tell me you didn't like duelling Sirius last year."
"Sirius? I thought we were talking about Narcissa's targets this year, not Malfoy's last year."
"Are you telling me you duelled Sirius last year because Lucius Malfoy told you to?"
"Of course," Severus answered. "You don't think I cared about that stupid broom, do you?"
"And you really do hex people just because Narcissa tells you to?"
"I just told you that," he answered, puzzled at her question. "Everyone knows I belong to Lucius Malfoy, and unless he tells me otherwise, I answer to the ranking Slytherin at Hogwarts. Who this year, unfortunately, is Narcissa Black. And because I'm so good at Charms, including Hexes and Jinxes, that's what they both want me to do. It's annoying, and it makes me a target for no good reason."
She stared at him. He wasn't kidding.
"I've never hurt anyone!"
"You've never ... " Lily was aghast. He honestly didn't see anything wrong with what he was doing. "Just because you've never caused any lasting physical damage doesn't mean you've never hurt anyone!"
"Oh, yes, I quite agree with that," Severus answered coldly, black eyes glaring at her, and now Lily knew that he was furious. "For example, just because you don't notice that one of your so-called best friends has a broom that doesn't stand a chance in hell against your Nimbus, it doesn't mean that he's not humiliated every time you leave him in the dust on his Comet. ... Or his Tinderblast."
"Sirius didn't mean anything ... "
"Of course not. Sirius never means anything by it," Severus spat. "And it wasn't just Sirius. James almighty Potter got mad at Pettigrew for not saving Sirius from himself! But not to worry. Neither of them meant to humiliate Pettigrew, so that's all right then."
Lily had become very quiet. "Peter hates you for that, you know."
Severus shook his head in disgust. "He has to, Lily. He belongs to James and Sirius as surely as I belong to Lucius and Narcissa. But he's a Gryffindor, so he can't admit it to himself. And James and Sirius can't admit they have obligations to him. At least when Narcissa treats me like shite, I don't have to pretend it's the fault of the people she sets me on."
"But you don't have to do it at all, Severus. You don't have to be Narcissa Black's personal thug."
"We'll see," said Severus, sighing wearily. "There are much worse people than Narcissa. No doubt I'll have to choose sooner rather than later and damn the consequences. But there was something else I wanted to talk to you about."
Lily could see Severus was not going to talk about this any more and her own head was spinning, trying to make sense of everything the Slytherin boy had told her. "Yes, I know. Electives for next year."
He smiled at her faintly, somehow astonished that they still seemed to be friends. "Yes, the electives. But there's something else I have to tell you that's more important. And you have to swear to me you will never tell anyone."
"How can I swear that without knowing what it is, Severus?" Lily asked. "You hang around with some scary people."
Severus smirked. "You have no idea," he said. "You hang around with some scary people too, you know."
"Yes, I know." She copied his smirk. "You."
At that, he laughed. "But really, Lily. I'm not swearing you to anything Dumbledore doesn't approve of. In fact, if he tells you you don't have to swear not to tell anyone, I'll release you from your word. Is that good enough?"
"Okay, I swear to keep your secret, unless Dumbledore tells me I don't have to. Now what is it?"
"Remus Lupin is a werewolf."
Lily broke into a wide smile. "And Dumbledore's arranged it so he can go to school here? That's wonderful!"
Not for the first time, the Gryffindor's response took the Slytherin by surprise, though he didn't show it. He had told her so she would be prepared to protect herself if need be.
"You can't tell anyone, Lily," Severus warned her, worried. "It's against the law for him to be here. If the wrong people find out, they'll kick him out."
"Against the law?"
"Lily, it is rather dangerous, you know. If Lupin fails to take the necessary precautions even once, people can die."
"Well, yes but ..." And then suddenly something occurred to her. "Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black would be two of the 'wrong people', wouldn't they?"
Severus nodded his head silently.
Suddenly, Lily didn't care about the Slytherin boy's "personal space." She hugged him.
Severus stiffened, but smiled back at her, a bit shyly. "Now about those electives," he said, and they set off walking again.
Albus Dumbledore looked down at the grounds from his office, and his eyes picked out the tall, gangly Slytherin boy, all black and white, and the shorter Gryffindor girl, her ginger hair in vivid contrast. He chuckled to himself. It made him think of another Gryffindor / Slytherin friendship from long ago. Of course that time, the Gryffindor had been male, not female. He hoped this one turned out better than it had for Godric and that other Salazar so long ago.
Chapter Eight: Lupin
After Severus came back from the Christmas holidays, he started reading the Starkey book and keeping track of the phases of the moon.
Regulus Black gave Severus his first direct exposure to the insane hatred the Orion Blacks had for Muggles, Muggle-borns and those with insufficiently pure blood.
Severus had insufficiently pure blood. He knew his ancestry would prevent him from reaching certain goals. He never expected to be Minister of Magic, or headmaster or deputy headmaster of Hogwarts, or head of almost any other public Wizarding institution. He would make his mark doing something based on his own talent and hard work; open his own apothecary, invent some new magical potion or device, do basic research; he didn't know what yet. He had no intention of rising "above" the Malfoys and the Blacks of the Wizarding world; he was going to use them to provide backing for whatever he ended up doing -- in return for a percentage or publicity or some other sort of payback.
But to Regulus Black, Mudbloods and others of insufficiently pure blood were not just supposed to be excluded from rule; they were to be enslaved or exterminated outright. Regulus Black and his parents didn't think Severus deserved to attend Hogwarts; they probably thought his Muggle father should be killed outright.
He was lucky to have Lucius Malfoy.
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First year Regulus Black was sitting in the Slytherin common room, third year Goyle and sixth year Crabbe in attendance. Only pure-bloods were worthy to sit in his presence. Severus intended to pass through the common room to his dormitory and work on the first phase of a potion that had to be started during a full moon. Last year he had read or even played chess from time to time in the common room. This year Regulus made it almost impossible, seeming to consider it a game to pull Snape from whatever he was doing for the most inane reasons.
"Sevvie," drawled Regulus. "You're not going to shut yourself up in your dormitory again tonight, are you?"
"I have work to do on Sluggy's essay," Severus lied. He hated Regulus calling him "Sevvie" more than the Gryffindors and their idiotic "Snivellus." Come to think of it, he would probably hate anything Regulus chose to call him.
"Oh, I'm sure you have time to do something else first, don't you?" Regulus insisted.
Severus schooled his face to the usual accommodating expression he wore for those who outranked him, inclined his head, and said, "I am willing to endanger my essay mark, if I can be of service to you." There. He wasn't going to say it didn't matter. If the Slytherin Black knew anything about the way these things worked, he wouldn't want to endanger a potential follower's marks; at least not those of a follower who was much more useful because of them.
The Slytherin first year narrowed his eyes at Snape. That sounded suspiciously like conditions. "I'm sure I can count on you to do this little favor and still maintain your Potions marks," he said coolly.
"As you wish," answered Severus blandly.
He did not get a chance to start the potion.
******************
The next day, Severus checked in with Madam Pomfrey as usual to see if she had work for him to do. His classes were over for the day and Narcissa didn't have any "corrections" for him to do.
Poppy wasn't quite sure what to make of the boy. She was sure he was responsible for several Infirmary admittances to correct conditions that tended to be embarrassing but not dangerous, although no one ever accused him in front of staff. But since the Christmas holidays he had started to show an intense interest in healing. There were lung problems in his family, he told her.
They both recognized that part of the healing process was administering the various potions, spells and therapies to the patients, so the nurse had taken to asking the just turned thirteen-year-old to help her with whomever might happen to be there. It was necessary, but it made Severus uncomfortable. How long would it be before he was attending someone he had put there in the first place?
On the other hand, being a Healer was certainly an acceptable profession; better than cotton mill foreman or professional thug. For the first time, Severus began to think about what he might enjoy doing, instead of just what might increase his status.
Severus looked over to see who was in the Infirmary. It was Lupin. Again.
"Mr. Snape, would you fetch some murtlap essence for Mr. Lupin? Go ahead and start applying it where he needs it."
Remus remembered the first time Madam Pomfrey had brought Snape over to help, after the full moon in January. While he had never been the object of the Slytherin's "attentions," he knew the kinds of things he did for the likes of Lucius Malfoy or Narcissa Black, and his first thought was that he had somehow become a target. After a while, Remus realized that Snape actually wanted to learn about healing.
Severus got the salve and went over to sit by Lupin's bed. He noticed the usual selection of bites and slashes. "I see you got into another losing argument with a wild beast," he smirked.
Remus flinched, but played along. "One of these days I'll win," he answered with a weak smile.
Severus wondered what was really going on. At first, he thought maybe someone was beating the Gryffindor boy up. He knew kids back home who got beaten, and he'd even seen one or two students in the Infirmary who he was sure had been beaten as well. But those slashes didn't look like they'd been made by human fingernails or human weapons.
He was sure, though, that the nurse knew exactly what was going on. She never seemed surprised to see Lupin, and she always seemed to be certain just what he needed.
At first, Remus had refused to let Snape come near him unless Madam Pomfrey was right there. But he soon learned that the other boy was not only safe, but knew what he was doing. He would never call the Slytherin's ministrations "gentle" exactly, but they were effective and calculated to cause the least amount of pain. And there was something about the other boy's manner that inspired complete confidence.
Poppy looked over at Snape sitting next to Lupin. This was going to be a problem. The Slytherin was already trying to figure out what brought Lupin to the Infirmary so often. He knew that the standard story about "getting sick" was not true -- Snape was already connecting Lupin's injuries with animal attacks. Eventually the boy would figure it out. What she wondered was, would that be good or bad?
******************
There was noise in the corridor and then the door to the Infirmary burst open. James and Sirius spilled into the room followed by Peter. Remus broke into a wide grin. He was getting used to these visits after every full moon, although they also worried him. It amazed him that his friends could visit him every month and still not make the obvious connection. But until they did, he had to admit he loved the visits.
"Remus, what an ugly nurse you have," James greeted him, sitting down next to him on the opposite side from where Snape was making some notes, having finished with the salve.
"Hey Remus, how'd you rate Snivellus?" asked Sirius. "Have you been getting into trouble without us and got yourself put in detention?"
Peter grinned and rubbed his hands together, looking from James to Snape and then from Sirius to Snape. Oh, how he'd love to see Snape get his!
Snape ignored them both and handed Remus a glass with a potion. "Here Lupin, this will make it easier to sleep. It's not a sedative, it will just relieve the soreness."
Remus refrained from answering that he knew very well what it was and what it did, having taken it practically every month after returning back to normal for almost as long as he could remember. "Thank you Snape," was all he said and drank it.
Severus looked at his watch and checked Lupin's chart again. He addressed the three visiting Gryffindors. "You have half an hour." Then he moved over to another area of the Infirmary, sat down at a table, and began looking through books and occasionally making notes on a scroll. He kept an eye and an ear on what was going on across the room.
"Half an hour!" protested Sirius. "Why that greasy git! How does he get off telling us ... "
"Aww Sirius, I don't really want to waste my time on that," interrupted Remus. "Snape's just following Madam Pomfrey's orders. So what did you do while I was stuck here?"
James and Sirius gave Remus a play by play account of the brilliant Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw the afternoon before. Severus, across the room, wondered if they ever talked about anything else. The half hour was almost up, and he got ready to walk over and send the other boys out of the Infirmary. He fully expected to need Madam Pomfrey to back him up, so he glanced over to her office and verified that she was there.
Just before he got up, he heard James mention the full moon they'd had yesterday. Apparently they had used the bright light of the moon to get into mischief because their voices had dropped, and he could make out nothing else. Severus froze at the table. Of course yesterday was a full moon; he had hoped to start a potion that was sensitive to the lunar cycle, according to Starkey, but had been prevented by more nonsense from Regulus Black.
He recovered himself, but before he could make it over to the Gryffindors, Madam Pomfrey had come over and sent the three boys away.
Still, Severus went over to Lupin. He said nothing, just picked up Lupin's chart again. Lupin had been admitted two hours after the sunrise following the night of the full moon. Then Severus got out his own lunar journal. Somehow he was not surprised to find that he had attended Lupin in the infirmary right after last month's full moon too. And right after the full moon in January. He flipped back to Lupin's chart. The other charts he had seen included a page with a short summary of all admittances to the Infirmary. But that page was missing from Lupin's chart. Either this was Lupin's first admittance, which Severus knew to be false, or Madam Pomfrey had removed that page before giving him the chart. What did she not want him to know? That Lupin was admitted every month right after the full moon? Looking like he'd been attacked by a wild animal?
Remus watched his friends leave and sighed. Then he looked over at Snape. Let's see, he thought, Snape's done the gashes and bites and given me my pain potion. There isn't anything else, is there? He started to get suspicious as he watched Snape look from one scroll to another and then back again. Of all the people to find out ...
Severus thought he'd test the conclusion he was starting to draw. Gryffindors tended to wear their emotions on their sleeves. Maybe he could provoke a reaction.
"I was sorry to miss yesterday's full moon," he said. "There was a potion I wanted to try that has to be started under the full moon." His black eyes drilled into Lupin's amber ones and Lupin immediately shivered and looked away. Bingo!
All color drained from the young Gryffindor's face and he sank back into the pillow defeated, eyes closed.
"What I don't understand," said Severus, leaning forward, "is why you're the one with the scratches and bite marks, if you're the werewolf."
Remus opened his eyes and looked up at that hateful face; the pale, expressionless, cold-eyed, hateful face of the boy who was going to get him expelled from Hogwarts. "You don't know much about werewolves, do you?" The venom in Lupin's voice shocked Severus so much that he let it show on his face for a few seconds. Remus' mouth twisted in a lopsided, malicious grin at actually getting a reaction from the ice man of Slytherin. "What do you think happens when you confine a rabid wolf with no prey but itself?" he asked.
Severus leaned back and nodded slowly. Of course, that made sense. "You're right, Lupin, I don't know much about werewolves," he said.
Remus looked at Snape. The ice man was back. But he had actually admitted he didn't know something. That was something he had never heard from the Slytherin before. There was silence for several moments.
"Madam Pomfrey knows, of course," Snape said.
"Of course," said Lupin.
"Dumbledore knows too," Snape said.
"He set it up," said Lupin.
Severus nodded. "You don't mind if I verify that for myself, do you?" He lifted an eyebrow and looked straight into Lupin's eyes.
This time the effect was much different. Lupin had no trouble meeting the Slytherin's eyes. Severus decided not to test who would last longer and broke off the gaze first.
"Of course not," answered Remus with a bitter smile, ridiculously pleased that Snape had looked away first. "But I don't see why you'd bother. All you really need to do is tell your Slytherin boss and I'll be packing by tomorrow."
"I will talk to Dumbledore," said Snape coldly. "And then I will abide by whatever he tells me."
Remus stared at Snape in surprise. "But ... but he'll tell you to ... he won't let you tell anyone."
"If that is true," Severus answered coolly, "then it is likely you will not be packing tomorrow. But I will be keeping an eye on you. And no matter what the Headmaster says, I will not be pleased if you allow anyone to be harmed by your ... condition."
Then the Slytherin smiled dangerously, leaning closer, and added so softly that it was barely audible and yet Lupin could not help making out every word. "And yes, that is most definitely a threat."
Severus gathered up his notes, took his leave of Madam Pomfrey, and went back to his dorm. Strangely enough, Remus had no trouble falling asleep.
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Peter Pettigrew was disgusted with their visit to Remus. No matter how James or Sirius provoked Snape, he never seemed to take the bait. Not that Remus usually gave them much of a chance to make a real effort. Sometimes Peter wondered if the fourth member of their quartet really disliked the Slytherin. He certainly didn't seem to hate him as much as he should. As much as any decent person would.
Sirius, who of the four was showing the earliest interest in girls, was the first to remark that the quiet boy seemed to end up in the Infirmary once a month, and joked behind Lupin's back with the other two that the boy must be suffering from PMS. Peter liked those jokes. He still regretted, on and off, his decision to invite Remus to their study group, which led to him being one of them. Peter still saw him as the "fourth" member of the group, but he was afraid James and Sirius were starting to relegate Peter to that position. That just wasn't fair.
It was cold standing right next to the window and Peter shivered. But he liked looking out at the night, while safe and cozy inside. The waning moon was nearly full, and almost as bright as it had been yesterday. This was the third time in a row the hated Slytherin had been hanging around when they visited Remus in the Infirmary. The third time in a row he had looked out on a nearly full, waning moon, after visiting him. Which meant that Remus was always in the Infirmary right after a full moon ...
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James was laying on his back in bed with the draperies closed, head on hands, elbows sticking out to either side. He stared blankly at the moonlight that snuck in through the cracks in the bed's curtains and worried about Remus.
He'd figured it out by the end of their first year himself. The light of the full moon was such a great time to do stuff, and Remus always seemed to miss those nighttime romps by being in the Infirmary. He was friends with a real live werewolf! It had both scared him and excited him at the same time. After he did a little reading up on the subject, he understood just why Remus was so sickly. Besides the pain of the actual transformations, the other boy literally tore into his own flesh every month when he became a trapped wolf. Sometimes James didn't think that he had ever met anyone so brave; to go through that month after month, and yet every month still make sure he was locked away so he didn't hurt anyone. He thought that he himself would probably have just run off one month and never let himself be locked up ever again.
Dear, idiotic Sirius, who would give his right hand for a friend and yet stab him in the back by accident the next minute, had blurted it out and totally missed the significance of what he had noticed. Yes indeed, Remus did disappear every month like clockwork to the Infirmary. There weren't a whole lot of maladies besides PMS that had that particular interval. Sirius might miss it, but Peter wouldn't. Still, Peter was one of them. What worried him was Snape.
What was that greasy Slytherin executioner doing in the Infirmary, of all places? Did he want to make sure he had a second chance at his victims? And what did Madam Pomfrey think she was doing, letting him near the sick and injured? It was crazy! And now the nasty little git had actually treated Remus three months in a row. Snape might be a lot of things, but one thing he wasn't was stupid. James usually controlled his hatred of the Slytherin hit man around other people, but he didn't hide it from his three best friends. People like Snape, willing to hurt innocent people on the command of those who owned them, for a galleon and a pat on the back, shouldn't exist.
*******************
Remus didn't have a chance to spend time alone with his friends until the hour before dinner the next day. After his encounter with Snape yesterday evening, it was almost anti-climactic to find out that James and Peter knew his secret too. Sirius seemed to be the only one who wasn't in the know, and he thought the whole thing was just so cool, you'd have thought he wanted to be a werewolf himself. From then on, Remus no longer worried about being found out at Hogwarts. The staff knew, his friends knew, even Severus Snape knew, and they were all pledged to keep his secret.
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Author's note
I think the part in "Snape's Worst Memory" where James tells Lily he picks on Snape just because he exists is misleading. I don't think Snape was a random victim; they had good reason to target him.
You can also see that I think Snape knew about Lupin being a werewolf well before the Shrieking Shack incident. I think the story we're told about what actually happened is just that -- the official story.
Chapter Seven: Muggles
As they had last year, Eileen and Tobias took Severus to Diagon Alley after meeting him at the station, and before they headed for home for the Christmas holidays. Although Tobias' shortness of breath was still confined to the first day of the work week, the cold weather was hard on him, and for the first time he seemed to have trouble keeping up with his wife and son.
When they got to Flourish and Blotts, the store was running a promotion on Hesper Starkey. She was mortally ill, leading to a resurgence of interest in her books. Severus and Eileen went into the book store. Tobias normally would have come in with them, but felt tired, so he waited for them outside on a bench.
***********
Tobias liked watching the witches and wizards pass by and pretending he was actually one of them. Years ago when he had been courting Eileen, he had even bought a wizard's robes, and he always wore them when he went someplace like Diagon Alley. It was still the same robe, all black and a little shabby and out of date, but it still fit and was in reasonably good shape. After all, he only wore it two or three times a year at the most.
There went another witch in a green robe. Green seemed to be the fashionable color this year. She had flaming red hair, and a small baby in her arms. At her side her tall, thin husband, a more muted redhead, was levitating several sacks and packages. The trio went into Flourish and Blotts. Obviously doing their Christmas shopping.
It seemed to be the day for redheads, because a man and a woman in Muggle clothes were next, accompanied by a young red-haired girl, also in Muggle dress. A Muggle-born witch with her parents, thought Tobias. They were usually pretty easy to pick out. They liked to do their Wizarding shopping when they were already in London to meet the Hogwarts Express.
The girl disappeared into the book store and her parents came over to Tobias' bench, carefully sitting at the far end. They think I'm a wizard, he thought with pleasure.
The Muggle woman started digging through her purse, while her husband kept a nervous surveillance on his surroundings. It seemed to be more than the usual Muggle unease in magical surroundings.
********
Severus and Eileen ended up in the Potions section together, as usual.
"Look, Salazar," said his mum. "They've got that Hesper Starkey book on sale."
"Cool," said Severus. "Buy it for my Christmas present, and you can read it over the holidays. Then I'll take it to school and bring it back during all my breaks for you."
He noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye. Lily Evans was in this section too. Made sense. She was contender with him for best Potions student in second year. Okay, so she was the best Potions student in second year. He was a close second and it could change any time.
Lily noticed that Severus had seen her, so thought it only polite to acknowledge the fact. "Hi, Severus. Funny meeting you here."
Typical Gryffindor joking, but she didn't seem to mean anything by it.
"Are you looking at the Starkey too?" he asked.
"What are you ... ? " Lily was confused, then saw the poster. "Are you talking about her? Is she good?"
"Well," smirked Severus, "she's on her deathbed, which seems to have made her famous, but actually, yes, she does have a good reputation. She's an expert on the use of the phases of the moon in potion making. And her books are usually twice this price."
"Do you think I should get a copy?"
"It depends," said Severus, thoughtfully. "There are certain Potions books you should have first. But if you already have the others, this is a really good next level addition, and it's a great price."
"What other ones?" asked Lily. She was a bit surprised to be having a civil conversation with Narcissa's Slytherin thug.
Severus started pointing out the must-have references, occasionally drawing his mum in for a second opinion. Lily noticed that they sounded more like two colleagues discussing their profession than mother and son.
"Where do you work, Mrs. Snape?" Lily asked, after another such "professional" exchange. Snape's mother was obviously working in some potions-related field.
Eileen and Severus went silent. The boy suddenly took on the largely emotionless expression he usually wore at Hogwarts, eyes cold, with a hint of disdain on his face. His mother lowered her head, suddenly seeming intensely interested in a book on a low table just in front of her. Lily was taken aback by the sudden reaction, realizing that she had crossed some line that she was unaware of.
"I mean," she stuttered, "you know, you're so up-to-date with Potions and all, it's like I thought you had a job in Potions, and I thought, maybe, you know, someday, I'm pretty good in Potions myself, you know, and I might want to work in that field and I haven't met many professional witches, you know." Lily petered out, hoping she hadn't made it worse.
All the mothers on Spinner's End did some sort of work for pay, of course, and Lily's question would have meant nothing there. But this was Diagon Alley, and it was low-class to have a mother with a job. Bringing the topic up here was usually a ploy to put someone in their place. And there was no way Severus Snape was going to put up with that from a Muggle-born Gryffindor. But then the girl suddenly started a long string of barely coherent phrases and Severus realized, once again, that she meant nothing by it. He relaxed again. "Yeah, Mum, Lily's even better at Potions than I am."
At that, Eileen relaxed too. Salazar obviously didn't consider it a slight, so she wouldn't either. "I work full time over at Slug & Jiggers Apothecary. After all, now that Salazar's at Hogwarts, there's no reason not to anymore."
"Salazar?" Lily blurted out, instantly regretting it, but there was no chill this time.
"Yes," said Eileen proudly. "Severus for my brother and Salazar for Salazar Slytherin. The Princes have been Slytherins for centuries. Salazar is his second name."
Severus actually looked slightly embarrassed, but mainly indulgent. "Mum, Lily's Muggle-born. Now she's going to think we're descended from Slytherin himself." He turned to Lily. "She just means our family always gets sorted into Slytherin House."
"She said the Princes are," said Lily. "What about the Snapes?"
"Oh, Da's a Muggle," said Severus. "The Snapes are mostly all Muggles. But if he was a wizard, he'd be a Slytherin. He's the one gave me my second name." And something in the boy's tone told her this was a favorite story of his.
Lily was fascinated by this turn in the conversation. She had been disturbed by the reports of attacks on Muggles in the Daily Prophet, and none of her Gryffindor friends would give her straight answers. And yet, Severus and his mother seemed more comfortable talking about their Muggle relatives than about where Mrs. Snape worked!
Since she had finally found someone who seemed willing to talk about Muggles, Lily decided to risk a question. "I didn't think Slytherins approved of Muggles," she said carefully, keeping any note of accusation from her tone.
Severus looked over at his mum, then sighed, and lowered his voice. "These are strange times," he told Lily. "Pure-bloods are like Wizarding royalty, you might say. But recently people have started applying pure-blood standards to regular people. It makes no sense. Everyone can't be royal. Slytherin House has always been mostly half-bloods and a few Muggle-borns, with the few pure-bloods in charge, of course. Just like the other Houses. But there aren't any Muggle-borns in Slytherin these days. In my year, I'm the closest we have to one, with a Muggle dad and a half-blood mum."
"The Princes aren't pure-blood then?" asked Lily.
Severus snickered, and Eileen broke out in a wide grin. "Um, no," said Eileen. Just as soon ask a chimney sweep if he was related to the Queen.
Then Lily risked a joke. "But then you're almost royalty, Severus. You're a half-blood Prince."
At this, both Eileen and Severus broke out laughing. "Is there any other kind?" Eileen asked.
Lily bought every Potions book Severus had pointed out to her, including the one by Hesper Starkey.
******************
Author's note
I did not make up Hesper Starkey, or her area of expertise. According to the Harry Potter Lexicon, she is on a Chocolate Frog card:
Starkey, Hesper (1881 - 1973) Witch who studied the use of phases of the moon in potion making.
Her death in 1973 means she would have died in the second half of Snape's second year, or the first half of his third year.
The red-headed couple with the baby are Arthur and Molly with Charlie, who was born December 12, 1972.
As I noted for an earlier chapter, I realize that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince implies that Eileen Prince is a pure-blood, but for the purposes of the this story, I'm making her a half-blood.
Chapter Six: Pettigrew
When Severus started his second year at Hogwarts, Narcissa Black replaced Lucius as the ranking Slytherin. She used Snape to embarrass anyone who for whatever reason earned her dislike or annoyance.
When Severus started his second year at Hogwarts, Narcissa Black replaced Lucius as the ranking Slytherin. She used Snape to embarrass anyone who for whatever reason earned her dislike or annoyance.
While Lucius had actively cultivated a following with various talents, Narcissa was interested only in being waited on. Lucius provided rewards; Narcissa considered the chance to serve her reward enough. Lucius had been careful to recognize Snape's status, and give him the occasional personal notice; it was little enough to do for a boy who looked to grow into a very useful man. Narcissa completely ignored him; he was scrawny, his hair was greasy, his nose was too big. His appearance offended her aesthetic sense.
Lucius kept in touch with his followers from Hogwarts through regular trips to Hogsmeade. As a second year, however, Severus was not yet allowed on Hogsmeade weekends, so he missed out on these meetings, and had to make do with the occasional owl from Malfoy.
*********************
Severus was in the library, researching various potions used for lung ailments. He felt someone's eyes on him, and looked up. It was Evan Rosier, with an apologetic look on his face. Severus sighed. Evan's sister, Bronwyn, was a friend of Narcissa's. Whenever Narcissa wanted the Slytherin enforcer, she told Bronwyn, Bronwyn told Evan, and Evan told him.
Narcissa was much easier to offend than Lucius had been, and at the beginning of the year, she had called on him to "correct" at least one person a week. Fortunately, people had learned to tiptoe around her so she didn't use him that much anymore. Unfortunately, while Lucius' jobs had been few, and well calculated, so that (most) people realized that Severus was acting as a force of (Slytherin) justice, Narcissa was so petty that it was rubbing off on his own reputation. People were starting to try to get back at him. During his first year at Hogwarts, he had been able to get so deeply into a book in the library that Lestrange had had to tap him on the shoulder to get his attention. Those days were gone - now he was always aware of who was around him.
"Sorry, Sev, do you have a minute?" asked Evan.
"Of course," answered Severus, and rose, his face carefully composed to helpful indifference.
Evan preferred to walk the corridors of the school when passing along his information. He had long ago realized that Narcissa never had jobs that required subtlety or secrecy, and he rather resented the role of messenger's messenger to an underling. Walking helped him mask his irritation. He didn't want to take it out on Snape, who after all was just doing what he was supposed to.
They got to the corridor where Rosier usually started. "It's Peter Pettigrew this time. Have you heard about his impertinence to Narcissa?" he asked hopefully. He hated having to relate gossip, which was always necessary with Narcissa's jobs.
Severus let himself sigh with disgust. It was true the Gryffindor had no idea of proper behavior around the Wizarding upper class, but since when did Slytherins bother with Gryffindor boors? "Yes, I know. Please tell me Narcissa doesn't have anything specific in mind?" Severus had an idea for a new hex, and he thought he might try it out on this job.
Rosier sighed too, with relief and in commiseration. "No, just embarrass Pettigrew, and make sure he knows what it's for." He patted Snape on the shoulder as he left, saying, "You're a good sport, old boy."
Severus forced his face into a polite smile. He hated it when Rosier did that, not liking to be touched by anyone outside of family, but he took it in the spirit in which it was given. He wouldn't mind when Rosier was the ranking Slytherin. No, he wouldn't mind that at all.
************************
Sirius Black took to calling him Snivellus, a remarkably unoriginal nickname the Gryffindor genius came up with when a bronchitis potion Snape was trying to modify for his dad backfired and gave Severus a nasty cold instead.
Tobias Snape's Monday shortness of breath had come back. When he had been promoted to foreman at the cotton mill, it had gone away. But he was still working at the mill, and though his exposure to the dust was less as a foreman, it still continued. Tobias, Eileen, and Severus all knew what would come next -- after awhile, if Tobias continued to work at the mill, it would extend over the rest of the work week. Eventually, coughing and shortness of breath would never go away. The mill workers called it brown lung. The Muggle doctors called it byssinosis. The Snapes and the Princes called it "the way things are."
**********************
It was a beautiful autumn day, but Sirius was bored. Almost everyone third year and above was gone to Hogsmeade, James had gotten permission to visit home for somebody's birthday or something, and Remus was in the Infirmary yet again. That left only Peter for company. Peter made a good audience, but he wasn't much good at coming up with ideas for fun stuff to do.
Peter was scanning the grounds and the lake, always on the lookout, as usual, for anything dangerous or of interest. It was a lovely day, and James and Remus were both gone, so he had Sirius all to himself. Why wasn't Sirius coming up with something to do?
If James were here, thought Sirius, this would be just the weather for flying. "Hey Peter, why don't you get your broom? We can race."
"Sorry, Sirius, my Comet's still in the shop," Peter lied easily. There was no way he could keep up with either James or Sirius on a broom, and he found it humiliating to be constantly losing, or trailing along way behind. His Comet was therefore always "out of commission" for one reason or another. Too bad it never occurred to either of his filthy-rich friends to donate a Nimbus, even a used one.
During one of his habitual scans, he noticed Snape walking along alone, heading in the direction of Hagrid's hut.
"Snivellus alert," Peter told Sirius, poking him in the side with his elbow.
Ever since the dour Slytherin spoil sport had hexed him for failing to show the "proper respect" for that spoiled rich seventh year over in Slytherin, he'd been looking for ways to get back at him. He'd wasted a weekend afternoon in the Infirmary while Madam Pomfrey figured out a way to keep his toenails from growing an inch a minute. And the potion that had finally worked had been vile.
Sirius narrowed his eyes and looked at Snivellus. The Gryffindor Black had come to associate Snape with all the hassle and pain he got from his family for being a "Gryffindor" Black and a suspected blood traitor. That duel had ruined his first year Christmas holidays, the summer holidays, and the way his mum kept on about it, looked to ruin every appearance he ever made at home again for the rest of his life. And up until then, while he hadn't exactly been on the best of terms with his younger brother Regulus, at least they used to be able to get along together.
Severus was on his way to the Forbidden Forest by way of Hagrid's hut. He wanted to gather some ingredients for a potion he was trying, and they weren't supposed to go into the Forest alone. The half-giant was usually quite willing to accompany any student who would show interest in the magical creatures he tended. Usually Hagrid's monologues were boring, but every once in a while he would come up with something interesting. For example, the creatures that pulled the carriages for second years and up were called thestrals, and there was a whole herd in this very Forest. That had set him off researching all the possible uses of thestral hair and such.
While he was thinking of this, Severus was also scanning his environment. Off ahead and to the right were the Gryffindor Black and Pettigrew. He'd keep an eye on them, but Potter was the idea man. He'd be past them and almost to Hagrid's hut before those dunderheads would come up with anything. Lupin wasn't with them, which usually meant he was in the library or the Infirmary. Severus had just come from the library, so it was the Infirmary then. He wondered idly why the fourth member of the Gryffindor quartet ended up there so often.
"Hey Snivellus, ... I mean Snape," yelled Sirius. He only added the "Snape" because the Slytherin had taught him that he would not respond to the nickname. He still hoped one of these times the other boy would slip up and answer to it.
Severus came even with the two Gryffindors.
"Yes, Black?" he answered coolly, drilling the other boy with his eyes.
If Sirius were the kind of person to notice such things, he would have realized that everything about the Slytherin from the curt response, to the head held high showed that he was addressing an inferior. As it was, he just knew that something about the other boy made him feel uncomfortable, as if he had been caught out doing something he shouldn't.
At that thought, he grinned. Well, let's see if he did get caught out, because he was certainly going to try to do something he shouldn't.
"I just wanted to know if I could borrow your Tinderblast for Peter here. His Comet's in the shop, and I know what a fine broom you have." Sirius could barely keep from laughing at his own joke, and his amusement was written all over his face.
Peter was appalled.
Although Peter was usually pretty good at showing only the face he wanted others to see, this took him completely by surprise. A Tinderblast?! From Snape? Sirius couldn't be bothered to loan him the old Nimbus that he still had laying about since he got the racing model, but he had no problem cadging an old used Tinderblast from one of the poorest boys in the school? Peter only let his shock and anger show for a few seconds, and Sirius missed it.
Severus didn't. So the Gryffindor Black had come up with this brainstorm all on his own then. And Pettigrew was about as interested in an old Tinderblast as he was in getting his Comet "fixed". He could play this game.
Severus put on his usual "speaking to Wizarding aristocracy" manner, bowed his head slightly, and answered, "But of course, I'd be delighted to."
This took Sirius by surprise, but Snape's manner somehow seemed "right" again. Peter was outraged, and again Black was oblivious and Snape caught it right away.
"There's just a slight problem," Severus continued, in the same mien. "Just an inconvenience, really, but my Tinderblast is at home, and I'll have to take the Knight Bus to get it."
"How long will that take?" asked Sirius, who had never taken the Knight Bus in his life.
"Not long, not long," Severus reassured him. "But the real problem is, I'm afraid I haven't got the fare."
"Oh, that's no problem," said Sirius, falling for the act hook, line and sinker. "How much is it?"
"Really, I couldn't. You know I can't pay you back," murmured Severus, trying to look uncomfortable revealing how little money he had.
"Don't worry about it, old man," encouraged Sirius, forgetting he was talking to a boy he had just tried to humiliate a few minutes ago. This was the kind of interaction he was used to with boys like Snape. "You're doing a favor for a friend of mine."
Peter was aghast. He knew, along with everyone else in his year that paid attention to anything, that Snape had sold the Tinderblast right after the duel at the beginning of the last school year. He had an awful feeling he knew where this was headed.
"Well then, if you insist," and Snape named a price that he calculated to be somewhat less than the amount Black was likely to have on him at the moment. It just so happened to be about three times the actual fare he would have needed, but he had no intention of taking the Knight Bus anywhere.
"I'll be off then," said Severus, still deferential. "I need to get something from my dorm first. Meet you over at the Quidditch pitch in half an hour?"
"That'll be fine," agreed Sirius smiling, while Peter seethed.
Half an hour later, Severus met Sirius and Peter over on the Quidditch pitch with a Tinderblast that looked very much the worse for wear. Evan had Floo'ed with him over to the Rosiers, where they had grabbed the old broom of a servant girl who had just gotten a secondhand Comet to replace her Tinderblast.
When James came back Sunday afternoon and found out about it, he realized Sirius had been taken by the Slytherin. He joked around with Sirius, so his friend would know what had happened but not feel too badly, just as he had done about that ridiculous duel. So Sirius had one more reason to dislike Snape.
With Peter, James was upset. Sirius didn't know any better, but Peter did, and he should have stopped Sirius from making a fool of himself. James thought it would serve him right to be forced to ride that old sissy broom for a while.
And Peter was stuck riding the Tinderblast for several weeks. Every time he told James or Sirius there was something wrong with it, one of them would ride it and proclaim it "just fine," so he had to actually break it before he was rid of the thing.
From that day forward, Peter hated Snape.
***************
Author's notes:
There really is a disease called byssinosis or brown lung, and it really was an issue in the cotton mills in and around Manchester, up to at least the middle of the twentieth century. It was mostly gone by the 1990's.
For more information on byssinosis in the Manchester area, you can go Here.
The course of the disease is as I have described it, based on internet resources.
Chapter Five: Holidays
Severus Salazar Snape went home to one of the best Christmas holidays he had ever spent. His twelfth birthday on January ninth seemed just a continuation of the celebration that had begun when he arrived at Kings Cross Station, and had only intensified slightly for Christmas itself. He was the first Snape or Prince anyone could remember who had a Malfoy patron. He had challenged and beat the Gryffindor Black in a formal duel. He was getting advanced lessons in Charms, and he was a member of the "Slug Club."
Also, with Eileen's extra income now that she was working full-time at the apothecary, the Snapes were doing better than they ever had. Tobias, especially, was proud that they were able to pay their son's tuition and expenses without arranging terms or accepting charity.
Eileen met Severus at platform nine and three-quarters. There was a bit of a commotion several cars down, but not where her son was. Lucius Malfoy was met by a family servant, who had to wait while he made a production of personally saying goodbye to all his favorites, which included Snape.
Severus stood tall as he strode proudly over to his mother, black eyes glinting, and a smug expression on his face. She controlled her nearly overwhelming urge to hug her son, and simply took his proffered arm, as she had at The Party.
************
Rodolphus, standing next to Lucius, who was now finally ready to go, leaned over to the other Slytherin and indicated Snape with his eyes. "You've got that one firmly in your pocket," he murmured.
"Yes," drawled Lucius. "His kind are so easy. And he's by far the most talented I've gotten in a long time."
They walked off together. Rodolphus would be spending the holidays with the Malfoys, and the Cygnus Blacks.
**********************
Sirius Black went home to the worst Christmas holidays he had ever spent. Both parents had owled him with tirades over getting put in Gryffindor and the humiliation of his duel with Snape, but it was easy to forget at Hogwarts with his new friends. Once at home, it was impossible.
He had hoped to postpone the explosion until he actually got home, expecting his parents to send a servant or a house-elf to meet him at the station. But his mother had come in person, and she was not happy.
"Sirius Nigellus Arcturus Black!" she screamed as soon as she saw him stepping from the train onto the platform. "You are a disgrace to the name of Black!"
James, still on the car behind him, whispered in his ear, "Not very original, is she? Sounds just like one of your Howlers."
Sirius elbowed him, trying and not quite succeeding in suppressing the snicker that was struggling to get out.
"Young man, don't you smirk at me!"
"No, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am."
Sirius finally made it all the way onto the platform, giving James a chance to disembark.
"Madam Black," said James, with his most formal and gallant bow. "I am so delighted to see you again."
Walpurga Black sniffed, but could not completely hide her pleasure at the greeting. "Good day, Mr. Potter," she answered with equal formality.
During this lull in the hostilities, Remus and Peter managed to make their way to the platform as well. They were both somewhat in awe of Madam Black, having been treated not only to her Howlers, like everyone else at Hogwarts, but also to the many other tirades she had sent her son. Sirius had enjoyed giving dramatic readings of his letters from home to his three friends. James had thought them unreservedly hilarious, and while Peter and Remus had thought Sirius' delivery was funny, they had also found his mother rather scary.
"And you must be Sirius' ... friends." She managed to make "friends" sound like a dirty word.
Peter was taken aback. He knew he didn't tend to be particularly popular with other boys, but he had always gotten along fine with parents, who saw him as a polite boy and a "good influence." Although he knew Mrs. Black's views on Wizarding ancestry, he also had the middle class tendency to think that everyone was really the same class (middle), and that it was somehow gauche to notice anything that set oneself or someone else off from the middle class.
Remus' first reaction was, "She knows." The young werewolf, middle class like Peter, had similar views, and couldn't think of any other reason for an adult to disapprove of him. Instead of feeling ill used, however, he turned pale with dread at being found out. He'd only made it through the first term of the first year, and it was already over.
"Let me introduce you, Mum," Sirius said, acting as if she hadn't just insulted his friends. "This is Peter Pettigrew."
Peter had watched how James had greeted Mrs. Black. He would show the idle rich bigot. He copied James' bow exactly. "Madam Black, what a pleasure to finally meet you. Your son has failed to do you justice."
She looked mollified, and managed to get out "Mr. Pettigrew," with much condescension, while James had turned aside to have a coughing fit to keep from laughing out loud. Her face hardened when she saw Sirius once again trying to suppress a snicker.
Before she could start going through all his names again, Sirius turned to Remus. "And this is Remus Lupin," he said, using the French pronunciation for Lupin.
Remus, whose mind had been blank of every thought but "It's all over," realized that Sirius was giving him a hint. Which meant that, possibly, he hadn't been found out. Remus had French relatives that they still saw from time to time.
He bowed politely as he had been taught for formal occasions, but without the dramatic gallantry of James or Peter.
"Enchante, Madame Black. Je suis a votre service."
"Bonjour, Monsieur Lupin. Avez vous connu mon fils depuis longtemps?"
"Non, Madame. Je lui a rencontrait le premier fois a Hogwarts."
Walpurga Black was completely charmed by the modest boy with the perfect French accent.
"See you in January," Sirius said to his friends, and as they turned away it seemed for a moment that they would get away from the station with no further unpleasantness.
Then Madam Black's glance happened to land on Lucius Malfoy taking leave of his followers. Avery, Crabbe, Wilkes, and then ... that boy. That low-blood, low-class son of a Muggle and a half-blood who had ...
She began to scream at her son again.
************************
Once on the Muggle side of the platform, Severus saw his father. Tobias gave his son the hug that Eileen had not dared to, and pounded him on the back several times before letting him go.
"We're going to Diagon Alley, Salazar. You have some shopping to do." He dropped a pile of Galleons into his son's hand. "That's from the Tinderblast," he explained.
Severus loved going to Diagon Alley with his father. The man's pleasure in everything Wizarding was contagious. And he had money to spend as well! The first thing he did was get two new school robes from Madam Malkin's that fit.
************
Lucius used Snape for "correction work" occasionally that year, and the boy always performed admirably. However, the pureblood believed in economy of effort, and thought it much more efficient to use the threat of his follower than to require action too frequently.
Sirius was not the target of any further threats or "correction." Lucius considered his point made, and Walpurga Black was doing quite well enough on her own to make sure her eldest son knew the error of his ways.
************
When the summer holidays came, they were just as bad for Sirius as Christmas had been, but longer. He spent as much time as possible with the Potters, and even managed to break free to visit Peter and Remus once or twice. But by the time he returned for his second year at Hogwarts, he was thoroughly sick of the name of Snape.
************
Remus was relieved to have gotten through his first year at Hogwarts with his secret intact. Although he missed his friends, Sirius gave him quite a scare by showing up at his house unannounced the morning after a full moon in July. Remus had transformed back to himself and was lying in a pile of blankets in the garage. His dad usually came in with hot chocolate and something to eat, and sat and chatted while Remus put on a dressing gown and ate. Then they usually went to his room and he got a massage before he went to sleep for a few hours.
This time, it was his mum instead of his dad. He was immediately worried. They always told him before he transformed if there was any change of plans. Since he couldn't remember what happened when he was in his wolf form, he always came to himself with a fear that he had bitten or killed someone, and it was kept somewhat in check by having everything as he expected it afterwards. His dad should be here. He wasn't. Had Dad showed up just a little too soon? Had Remus ... ?
Mrs. Lupin knew her son's worries, and immediately reassured him. "Dad's fine." Then she continued, "Sirius Black is here, and your father is keeping him occupied in the sitting room while I 'go up to your room to wake you up'. We told him you'd stayed up late reading, so have a book in mind when you see him."
Remus pulled on his dressing gown under the blankets, and sat up, bleary-eyed and aching. Although normally he would have been thrilled to see Sirius, right now he just wanted his hot chocolate, massage, and at least four hours sleep.
"Okay," he said, pulling himself to his feet, and starting to stumble in the direction of the door to the house.
"Just a minute, dear," his mother said, putting an arm around him. "You can't go that way. You might be seen from the sitting room." Remus looked at her blankly. "I'll Side-Along Apparate you to your room."
Remus understood that. "No!" he said. Apparition was uncomfortable at the best of times, but just now, with every muscle aching ...
His mother paused.
"Sirius Black is here to see me?" Remus was starting to think a bit more clearly.
His mum nodded.
"OK, go ahead," he said softly. He had tears in his eyes as he steeled himself for Apparition.
Afterwards, Sirius told Remus he had looked like death warmed over when he met him that day.
*******************
Severus spent his summer holidays brewing potions at home for the apothecary where his mother worked. He saved all his money, and when it was time for the next Slytherin Start of Term Ball, his mother also had robes that a Malfoy would deign to wear to a lesser Ministry function. His own dress robes he just had Madam Malkin alter to fit, at the same time she was altering his school robes.
*******************
Author's notes:
The Cygnus Blacks are Cygnus Black, Druella Rosier Black, and their daughters, Bellatrix and Narcissa. Their other daughter, Andromeda, will be disowned by at least Sirius' family when she marries Muggle-born wizard, Ted Tonks, but we don't know exactly when that was.
The French is mine, for better or worse. Corrections are accepted gratefully. Here is the translation:
Remus: Charmed, Madam Black. I am at your service.
Madam Black: Good day, Mr. Lupin. Have you known my son very long?
Remus: No, Madam. I met him for the first time at Hogwarts.
On Eileen Snape's blood status -
I realize that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince implies that Eileen Prince is a pureblood, but for the purposes of this story, I'm making her a half-blood.
Chapter Four: Classes
Professor Flitwick was pretty sure Langlock was a new incantation, so he talked to the boy soon after the duel to find out where he had learned it. He was impressed, but not particularly surprised to find that the somber Slytherin had invented it himself. Flitwick's best students usually started composing or modifying spells by their third year, but he had never seen a first year already capable of creating an original spell. He began to give Severus different assignments than the others in Charms class, and took to assigning him to help students who were having trouble learning the spells.
The first year Slytherins had Charms class with Gryffindor. After the duel, it had become the most unsettling class Severus had. He was very pleased with the extra attention and recognition he was getting from Professor Flitwick. He had not known that most wizards did not invent new spells, and that those who did usually didn't begin as young as he had. However, Flitwick also expected him to help other students, despite the fact that he was now one of Malfoy's enforcers, and the professor seemed to have no sense for status or house differences.
Fortunately, both Potter and the Gryffindor Black were sufficiently skilled at Charms. But he was frequently called on to help Pettigrew, as well as his Slytherin classmates Macnair and Bagman. Left to himself, he would have stayed next to Rosier, who was competent if not exceptional at Charms, looked for opportunities to help Yaxley and Bagman, and completely ignored everyone else, especially the Gryffindors.
Macnair was a problem initially. He had delighted in calling Snape over to help him with spells in class. Severus was damned if he'd be seen waiting on Macnair in Charms class, and had convinced Professor Flitwick that it would more effective if he tutored the other Slytherin outside of class. It was astonishing how focused the other half-blood became during his weekly one-on-one tutoring session with the Slytherin enforcer. Unfortunately for Macnair, he really needed the extra tutoring, and Severus really did manage to improve his Charms work.
Ludo was no problem at all. Severus regretted spending more time on Bagman than Rosier, but it couldn't be helped, and at least it was not beneath him.
Pettigrew was a special case. The Gryffindor was quite aware of the Slytherin's new role, and had found the factory boy's rough manners rather alarming even before that. Now he was simply terrified of Snape. On the one hand, Severus wanted to please Professor Flitwick, and was inclined to be at least respectfully deferential to the middle-class half-blood boy with no Muggle parents. But Pettigrew was a Gryffindor, and there was absolutely no chance of payback.
**********
James, Sirius and Peter were talking about the latest Quidditch match as they made their way to Charms. Or at least James and Sirius were talking. Sirius was in constant motion, now walking backwards in front of James, now to one side, now to the other. Peter was walking next to James, listening to the both of them and occassionally throwing in an appreciative "uh-huh" or "that's for sure" or "you don't say?"
Remus was a curious distance behind them, not exactly close enough to seem part of the group, but close enough to listen to their chatter. He was trying to get up the nerve to take an extra step and actually say something. Sirius was oblivious to the quiet boy. James had lately begun to notice him, and had been wondering if he ought to make the first step to include their overly studious dorm-mate, or whether it would be better to let the other boy work up his courage on his own. Peter had been quite aware of Lupin's interest from the very beginning, and just wanted him to go away. He had nothing against the other boy per se, but felt he had scored a major coup by getting in with the two popular boys, and was not inclined to share, especially with a boy who was better looking and cleverer.
Peter instinctively slowed down as they approached the classroom door. He would be there, and Peter was still having trouble with his Levitation Charms. He could get things to rise, but he had no control over which direction they went from there. Flitwick would ask him to help.
Severus was already in the classroom and could hear the Gryffindor boys coming a mile away. He scowled. Bagman was squared away, and he could deal with Macnair later, but he just knew that Pettigrew kid would still be having trouble with his Levitation Charms. The boy was so terrified of him that he couldn't concentrate on where he wanted the things to go once they had risen. What on earth was he supposed to do? Pat the boy on the shoulder and say "there, there" as if he were the Gryffindor's mum?
As predicted, once everyone was settled and the class had begun, Pettigrew began having trouble, and Flitwick sent Snape over to help. But as Severus was making his way over to Pettigrew's table, Lupin surprised everyone by speaking up. "Sir, I think I might be able to help Peter."
Severus stopped still, and arched an eyebrow. This was a promising development, but he wasn't sure how it would affect his "best Charms student" status.
Remus saw the eyebrow, and immediately knew just what the Slytherin's concern was. "I don't see why we have to keep bothering Snape with this. I know I'm nowhere near as good as he is, but after all, Peter's in my house, and I'm doing okay."
The Slytherin turned black eyes on the Gryffindor, but they were approving, not glaring, and Lupin swore he could see the barest shadow of a smile for a fraction of a second, before it changed to the more characteristic smirk. "I would be agreeable to the substitution, Professor," Severus said coolly, and turned to Flitwick, inclining his head slightly.
"Very well, carry on, carry on," the wizard clucked.
Severus returned to his seat, with an uncomfortable feeling that he was now somewhat in the quiet Gryffindor's debt, but mainly with an intense sense of relief. Peter's Charms skills improved dramatically, and he was so glad to be free of Snape that he invited Lupin to join their next study session in the dorm. Remus became an inseparable addition to the little group, and the Gryffindor quartet was complete.
Chapter Three: Duel
Rodolphus caught up with Snape in the library on Friday after classes. He tried to catch his eye, but Snape was too engrossed in his book. Finally, the older boy came over and tapped him on the shoulder. Severus looked up, recognized Malfoy's lieutenant, and immediately rose.
Lestrange led him to an empty classroom in the dungeons, not far from the Slytherin common room, closed the door, and cast an Imperturbable Charm. Then the older Slytherin sat on top of a desk. Severus remained standing.
"What you did to Macnair was pretty impressive," he said, "for a first year."
"I merely wished to make a point," Severus answered mildly. "He is, after all, a fellow Slytherin."
Rodolphus chuckled softly. "I thought you might say something like that. How do you think you would do against a Gryffindor?"
"I am the match of any Gryffindor up to at least the third year," the younger boy replied disdainfully.
"Really?" responded Lestrange in mock surprise. "I thought you'd be able to take on anybody up to seventh year."
Severus turned his black eyes on Lestrange for a moment, turning away just a second before he knew the older boy would have to.
"I do not indulge in vain bravado like some reckless Gryffindor," he sneered.
Lestrange considered him thoughtfully. Those eyes were unnerving.
"Could you take Sirius Black?" he asked, getting to the point.
"The Gryffindor Black?" Severus allowed his face to show surprise. Sirius would not even be a challenge. "What are the conditions?"
"Black must be formally challenged to a duel, in retaliation for a slight that I shall arrange. The duel will be public, and legal, because the teachers will think it is just a demonstration match. I shall arrange that as well. You will play with him for a bit, just to demonstrate how easily you can parry all his attacks. Then you will finish him off with one or two of the most advanced curses or hexes you know that cause no lasting harm. Something embarrassing would be best, but it can't be anything that requires a trip to the Infirmary."
"When?"
"As soon as I can arrange it. Within the next few weeks certainly. You should be prepared as early as next Wednesday."
"Will he accept the challenge from a half-blood with a Muggle father?"
Severus knew that most purebloods, especially the Blacks, would consider such a challenge beneath them.
"Ah," smiled Rodolphus maliciously. "But he's associating with a known blood traitor now. Potter won't like it if he refuses a duel on the grounds of your blood, Snape. And as far as the teachers are concerned, it will just be a demonstration match between two first years."
Severus remained silent. He wasn't sure how a formal challenge was made, and he was trying to decide whether he could find out without asking Lestrange. Rodolphus took his silence for hesitation. "Lucius will be very pleased if you can do this."
"Then of course, I will," answered Severus, inclining his head.
Rodolphus removed the Imperturbable Charm, and got up from the desk. "You will be contacted at the appropriate time," he said, as he opened the door, and left.
Severus had remained standing for the entire exchange.
*************
Sirius Black and James Potter were comparing their brooms in the Gryffindor first year boys' dormitory. As first years, of course, they weren't allowed their own brooms, but Potter had snuck his in under an Invisibility Cloak, and if a Black wanted to bring a broom to Hogwarts, he just did.
Sirius had been duly impressed when James had brought his Nimbus 1500 out from under the Invisibility Cloak -- not because of the broom, but because of the Cloak. "Mum won't let me have one, because she says 'A Black does not need to hide what he is doing.'"
James frowned, and Sirius suddenly realized that quoting a Black family maxim, and implying that there was something wrong with Potter sneaking his broom in under an Invisibility Cloak, was probably not the best way to endear him to the other boy. He grinned apologetically. "Lucky you're not a Black, then, aren't you?"
James smiled and shook his head as if to say, "What will he come up with next?" Having a Black in Gryffindor was certainly going to be interesting.
"Want to see mine? I got the Racing Nimbus," Sirius went on, when he saw that his grin and joke had fortunately had the same effect on the Gryffindor that they usually had on everyone else.
Short, chubby Peter Pettigrew skittered over to the other two boys. The Pettigrews were solidly middle-class, and he'd never even seen an Invisibility Cloak before. And Peter's own broom was a Comet, safely at home of course. It would have taken him a year to save enough pocket money to get any kind of Nimbus. "Does Filch know you have that?" he squeaked. "Aren't you afraid he'll take it away?"
Sirius looked in surprise at Peter. It had never occurred to him that that might happen.
James laughed out loud at the look on the other boy's face. "He might, you know. You're in Gryffindor now, not Slytherin."
Sirius was not used to being laughed at. Being a Slytherin, especially for a Black, was very serious business. But then again, wasn't that one of the reasons he wasn't a Slytherin? He joined in the laughter.
Remus Lupin was sitting up against the headboard of his bed, reading his first year Spell book. Occasionally he took a surreptitious glance over his book at the three by the window. He was not sure whether he was more jealous of the brooms or of the camaraderie of the other three boys.
*************
Rumors soon started circulating about the illegal broom in the Gryffindor first year dorm -- the Racing Nimbus, not the other. None of the Gryffindors had leaked the secret; Sirius' younger brother, Regulus had told someone who told someone, and eventually it came to the attention of Rodolphus Lestrange. It was a Wednesday evening after dinner, one of the times Lucius set for handling "business", so he had dismissed the other seventh year Slytherin boys from the dormitory.
"Go ahead, Roddy," Lucius said after settling himself in the regal armchair he had set against the one wall of the dorm that was free of beds. "I know you have something for me."
"Sirius has brought his broom to school," Rodolphus began.
"So?" responded the other wizard. "Evan has brought his as well. So did I when I was a first year."
"Sirius is in Gryffindor," Roddy went on. "I'm not sure that our usual arrangement with Filch applies to Gryffindors. What do you think?"
"I see," said Lucius, nodding thoughtfully. "No doubt you are about to tell me how we can take advantage of this situation."
"We need a reason for Snape to challenge Black. Doesn't it seem rather unfair that Black has a broom at school but Snape has to leave his at home?"
Lucius looked amused. "I rather doubt Snape even has a broom. You'll have to see to that, too, won't you?"
"A Tinderblast should be sufficient," Roddy answered. "We don't want to be too obvious. Will we be allowing him to keep it afterwards?"
"If he performs as expected, I see no reason why not," the Slytherin aristocrat answered magnanimously. "Is there anything else I need to deal with today, Roddy?"
Half an hour later, the other Slytherins were allowed back into their own dorm room.
******************
Severus was pacing back and forth on the North balcony of the Astronomy tower. There were no telescopes on this side, so there would be no one studying, and there were no niches, so there would be no one snogging either. He didn't particularly like the high, open space, preferring the comfort of solid walls on all sides, but it was the best he could come up with. He needed some time alone to think.
Grandfather Prince had answered the school owl he had sent asking for the details on how to formally challenge someone to a Wizarding duel. He knew the whole family would be worried by now, because of course he couldn't put in writing that he was doing it for Lucius. He had no way of letting them know what was really going on until he saw them in person, over the Christmas holidays. Mum and Dad would just have to trust that he knew what he was doing, and reassure the others.
Earlier that day, Lestrange had told him the plan in the same classroom as before. He was to challenge Black over a broom, of all things! Severus had made no secret at flying classes that he didn't give a fig for brooms or those who rode them. Besides the unnecessary expense of the broom itself, there was no place he could actually ride one anywhere around Spinner's End. He would have had to take the Muggle bus to the edge of town, holding what would look to a Muggle like a very misshapen broom. Not only were Muggle brooms much straighter, but Muggles rarely carried them about on buses, especially not Muggle men. He'd never had much interest in brooms or Quidditch anyway, and the complications of broom flying had made it certain that he would never acquire such an interest.
All right, then, he was doing so miserably at flying class that he and his family had decided he should have a broom for additional practice. The part about doing miserably at flying class was true enough. So all he had to do was engage Black in a conversation about brooms with non-Gryffindors in the audience, and get him to talk about the broom he had smuggled into Hogwarts. Then Severus would tell Black about the Tinderblast that he had smuggled in and Black would make fun of the broom.
"Who wouldn't?" Severus thought to himself with a snort.
Then he, Snape, would take offense, and challenge Black to a duel. Lestrange was going to convince the teachers that Black and Snape would be content with a "demonstration" duel instead of a real one, but every Slytherin would know better. A formal challenge, formally accepted, was a real duel, no matter what anybody wanted to call it. Severus wondered briefly how Lestrange was going to get this past Professor Slughorn, but then, that wasn't his problem.
It all sounded simple enough, but it made Severus extremely nervous. He was not accustomed to starting up conversations with anyone, let alone conversations about brooms. And in all his eleven and a half years, every relative on both sides of the family, Muggle as well as wizard, had impressed upon him the appropriate behavior around the Wizarding upper class, especially around such august names as Malfoy and Black. It would never have occurred to him to speak to one without being spoken to first, let alone show offense!
The more he thought about it, the more nervous he got, and the faster he paced. Snapes did not challenge anybody to duels, let alone purebloods. They might attend at a duel -- unlikely, but not unheard of -- but they did not issue challenges themselves. If only he could spend some time with Da to talk about this, and come up with the right things to say!
He suddenly noticed how fast he was pacing, and how tense he was. He stopped, and took several slow breaths. Well, his father wasn't here, and he would just have to deal with it by himself. The black eyes turned cold and empty as the gears started turning inside his head, and he began to construct a script.
************
Sirius looked over at the beanpole with the hooked nose and the greasy black hair at the other end of the duelling area. This was ridiculous! He was fighting a formal duel against a practically Mudblood factory kid over a taunt about a Tinderblast! No, strike that, he had to stop thinking in terms of pedigree, as if he were comparing a mutt with a show dog. James didn't like it, and besides, it was demeaning to both sides of the comparison. But still, who wouldn't have called a Tinderblast an old witch's broom? It was! Snape probably called it that himself!
"I have got to stop blurting out the first thing that comes to my mind," the impulsive Gryffindor muttered to himself, not for the first time. This was going to be humiliating. He'd heard about this first year Slytherin who knew more curses than some seventh years.
At least he realized that it wouldn't make any difference to James or Peter. Peter knew nothing about duels, formal or otherwise, and James thought it was a great joke and capital fun to have two first years duelling. He vaguely remembered the quiet Lupin kid frowning because he thought he remembered Snape didn't like flying, and besides, how could he afford a broom anyway? Something in the back of his mind whispered to him that this could be a setup, but Sirius had never liked listening to those whispers. He was a Gryffindor, not a Slytherin. He smiled at the thought, and steadied himself for the duel.
Severus eyed his pureblood opponent in the posh robe. He himself was wearing the only well-fitting robe he had, the one he had worn to The Party, and it managed to look both too formal and less well-made than Black's.
"Someday," he thought to himself, "all my robes will be quality and they will all fit."
The hard part was over, and it hadn't been hard at all, he thought with disdain. The Gryffindor had absolutely no control over what came out of his mouth. All the Slytherin had needed to say was "Tinderblast" and the idiot had answered "sissy broom", as if it were an automatic response. To think he had wasted so much time and energy worrying!
Professor Flitwick had shown Black and Snape to their respective places, and was going over the rules. Potter stood as second to Black, "simply to show how it would be done if this were a 'real' duel", and Macnair stood as second for Snape. Severus had wanted Yaxley, but had had to settle for the only Slytherin he clearly outranked. Two golden purebloods against two half-blood thugs. Well, it couldn't be helped. Yet.
Now the bow. Severus couldn't restrain himself from making his graceful bow lower than it ought to have been. In a formal duel, both participants were considered equal in rank. Black was lowering himself in the eyes of every Slytherin simply by agreeing to this duel. Sirius tossed off a shallow jerky bow that managed to be charming despite its gracelessness. Severus curled his upper lip. Sirius Black may be a Gryffindor, but he was still a Black, and he cared more about this than he was letting on.
They held their wands at the ready. One, two, three ...
"Rictusempra!" Sirius called out, throwing the Tickling Charm at Snape like a swordsman from a Gryffindor hall portrait.
"Protego!" pronounced Severus, quickly but methodically using his wand to describe the shield that deflected Black's charm before he had gotten the last syllable out of his mouth. Lucius nodded at Snape, pleased. There were still some adult witches and wizards who had trouble with that one.
"Tarantallegra!" Sirius threw the Dancing Charm without bothering to do anything about Snape's Shield Charm, which of course was still protecting him. Malfoy, Lestrange, and some of the other Slytherins snickered. Potter blushed, and tried to hiss something at Black. Snape stood inside the shield and raised an eyebrow.
"Serpensortia," conjured the Slytherin, and flung a snake in Black's direction, although much closer to himself than the Gryffindor. He still had a few more spells to go, and he didn't want Flitwick getting nervous and ending the duel too soon.
Malfoy smiled broadly. "Well done," he whispered to Lestrange. "A conjuring spell, and a serpent at that!"
Black looked at the snake as if he wondered where it had come from.
"Expelliarmus," he called, thinking of the Disarming Spell, but throwing it at the snake instead of Snape.
"I don't think the serpent has a wand," Severus remarked dryly when nothing happened. More snickers, not just from the Slytherins this time. Even Flitwick had to struggle to keep from smiling.
Finally, it ocurred to Sirius to try to stop Snape instead of attack him. But while he was trying to get out all seven syllables of Petrificus Totalus, Severus threw first his own invention, Langlock, so that Black couldn't speak clearly, and then finished up with a spell that tied him up in ropes. Severus had saved Incarcerous for last, because he knew that would end the duel.
Lucius declared the duel a smashing success, and thereafter Snape was no longer asked to fetch people or things, but was reserved for "correction" duty with the younger students.
Sirius was red with humiliation for about five minutes, until James started going over the duel. He almost seemed to think his Gryffindor Black friend had staged all of his idiotic responses for the other boy's entertainment. "Did you see the deadly earnest look on Snape's face? You would have thought this was over something important," grinned James. "And did you see those robes? I couldn't tell whether he was dressed for a duel or a funeral."
"A funeral, of course," parried Sirius, all embarassment forgotten. "Mine!"
Severus scowled as the Gryffindors walked off laughing. He had won, and Malfoy was pleased, but the Gryffindors didn't seem to realize it.
He sent the Tinderblast home for Mum and Dad to sell.
Chapter Two: Position
Back at Hogwarts, Severus considered his new place in the Slytherin hierarchy. When he had first arrived, he had been at the very bottom. Even Walden Macnair, a low class, first-year half-blood like himself, had outranked him because the last actual Muggle in his family dated from the last century. Now Walden was on the bottom.
By rights, he should take Walden's area in the boy's dormitory, but Severus didn't want it. His own area was cut off somewhat from the rest of the dorm by a large stone pillar that stood about a foot out from the wall beside the head of the bed, and continued along almost to the foot of the bed. Because of the pillar, he had less space than the other boys in the dorm, but it was worth it for the additional privacy. Still, he would have to do something to assert his increased status over Macnair.
Next came Sherman Yaxley. He wore shabby robes and carried marked-in books like Severus, but the Yaxleys were almost pure-blood, and his father was a Ministry man. They were perpetually short on cash because they had gone into debt to pay for home school for Sherman, and Mrs. Yaxley refused to do anything to bring in additional income.
Tobias Snape, on the other hand, was a foreman at the cotton mill, and was proud that despite the downturn in the economy, he had kept his job. Eileen, like all the other mothers Severus knew from Spinner's End, contributed to the family pot. She had been able to stay home with Severus when he was very young by selling potions she brewed at home to an apothecary on Diagon Alley. When he started going to Muggle school, she had worked part-time for them. Now that he was away at Hogwarts, she would start full-time.
Severus figured that with Lucius as his patron, he was now at the same rank as Sherman. He figured that by the end of fall term, he'd outrank him. He would treat Yaxley as an equal for now.
Ludo Bagman was next. He was a crass half-blood, but the Bagmans were rich, and Ludo was rumored to be an excellent Quidditch Beater. He was certainly big enough -- although he was just a first year, he was already as big as some of the seventh year boys. Severus figured that if he really did turn out to be a Quidditch star, Ludo would probably always be just above him. If it was all just bombast and bragging, though, that could change. He would keep an eye on Bagman.
Finally, at the top of the first year Slytherin hierarchy was Evan Rosier. He was from a rich, old, pureblood family, though not quite as rich or quite as old as the Malfoys. The Rosiers were patron material. Evan he would cultivate.
***************
Tuesday morning was the first Potions class after The Party, and Severus arrived early. He leaned his back against the doorframe of the open dungeon classroom, partially blocking the entrance. One eye was on his Potions book and the other was on the stairs leading down to the dungeons. He hadn't waited long before Macnair showed up. Severus adjusted his position so that one shoulder leaned on one side of the doorframe, his back to the classroom, effectively blocking the doorway.
"Have a nice time last Saturday, did you?" he greeted Macnair, not bothering to hide his Manchester accent.
Macnair scowled and grunted. "Did you have a point, Snape?" he growled, "or did you just want to see how easy I could break your skinny legs for you?"
Severus smirked, and looked down his substantial nose at Macnair. "Just wanted to let you know that Rosier is my Potions partner now." And he threw a Silencing Charm at him.
As the other boy raged silently, Severus bored into him with his cold black eyes, and spoke softly, using his most dangerous voice. "It's a good thing I know you weren't actually threatening me, Macnair." He added a Jelly-Legs Jinx, and Walden collapsed to the floor, his back to the wall. "You wouldn't want me mad at you." Macnair's legs now stiffened from the Leg-Locker Curse.
Severus heard other steps coming down the stairs, and lazily pointed his wand at Macnair one last time. "Finite Incantatem," he said, and resumed his former position, with his back against the doorframe.
Macnair got up and dusted off his robes. "Why don't you go take your seat?" Severus suggested conversationally. Macnair glared at the tall thin boy, but did as he was told.
Evan Rosier was somewhat surprised but not unhappy to see that Snape had replaced Macnair at his cauldron. The shorter boy had seemed almost too obsequious, and Snape was already shaping up to be the best Potions student in the class.
********************
By Thursday, news of Snape's treatment of Macnair had made its way to Lucius. The Silencing Charm, Jelly-Legs Jinx and Leg-Locker Curse weren't exactly advanced magic -- but he'd never heard of a first year showing such easy mastery of them in his second week at Hogwarts. And Sluggy was already considering asking the greasy factory kid to the next Slug club meeting, based on his performance in Potions class alone. How much could this nobody from nowhere actually do?
Lucius had decided to enjoy the uncommonly sunny September afternoon by the lake, since he had no classes after two that day. Rodolphus Lestrange, a fellow seventh year, was with him.
"Roddy," he drawled, gazing with unfocused eyes over the lake, "do you think you could take Snape in a duel?"
"Bad idea, Lucius," his advisor answered bluntly. "You know I could, and it would prove nothing, except possibly to embarrass Snape. You know how status-conscious his kind are. I thought you'd taken him on?"
"Yes, yes," said Lucius impatiently, "and he's turning out to be even more ... interesting than I thought. I want to find out the extent of his capabilities. What do you suggest?"
Both young wizards sat in silence for several moments. When Rodolphus spoke again, it seemed to be on a totally different subject.
"Sirius is quite an embarrassment. Bellatrix was complaining about him the other day at dinner."
"He certainly is," agreed Lucius. "A Gryffindor, of all things. And taken up with Potter, has he? The blood-traitor Potters?"
"That's the word, yes. I don't think the Blacks would mind terribly if Sirius met a bit of embarrassment himself. Nothing too serious and nothing permanent, of course, but ... memorable."
"Hmmm," agreed Lucius. "Narcissa might enjoy that too. I think we could arrange something."
The two sat and looked out over the lake. Lucius was thinking how much nicer this would be if Narcissa were sitting beside him. Rodolphus was figuring out the best time to have a private meeting with Snape.
Chapter One: Patronage
It was the custom of Abraxas Malfoy, as head of the board of Governors of Hogwarts, and former Slytherin, to give a Slytherin party on the Saturday after the beginning of fall term. He invited all of the current Slytherin students, the Slytherin head of house, any parent who was a former Slytherin, and any teachers at Hogwarts who had been in Slytherin House. The stated purpose of the event was to celebrate Slytherin solidarity and welcome the new Slytherins into the fold, and that was, in fact, one of the purposes. The other purpose was to allow a public, but Slytherin-only forum for Abraxas to recognize and reward those who supported him, recognize and punish those who opposed him, and in general, make sure everyone knew their place.
The sifting began with the RSVPs. No one turned down an invitation to the Slytherin Start of Term Ball. To do so was instant social death, which usually led to financial problems as well. The Slytherin pack was closely controlled by Abraxas, and through it, he influenced much of the Ministry of Magic and Diagon Alley as well.
And yet, the affair was formal, and required expensive dress robes, of the kind that most wizards and witches wore only on their wedding day. The poorest witches and wizards often ended up making a spectacle of themselves by showing up in robes that were unavoidably shabby or out-of-date or both. Invitees would go to sometimes desperate lengths, often putting themselves in debt, to buy or rent the best robes they could get their hands on.
***********
Severus Salazar Snape had just been sorted into Slytherin House. Eileen Snape read the note from the school owl that Dumbledore, the dear man, always sent immediately to the families that could not afford owls.
"Tobias," she called to her husband from the kitchen. "He made it!"
The tall, thin, pale man came into the kitchen, hugged his wife, and spun her around. Then, breathless, he sat down at the kitchen table where Eileen also reseated herself.
The moment of quiet elation passed, and became a more somber silence. Both Eileen and Tobias knew this meant they would have to face The Party. They would need to add to the few galleons they had managed to save, by begging or borrowing from both sides of the family.
"It could be worse," Tobias remarked. "We only need to outfit you and Salazar." Only Tobias and Eileen called their son by his middle name.
Eileen smiled wryly at her husband. As if having a Muggle husband, even one who was more comfortable in the Wizarding world than some Muggle-born witches and wizards, could be an advantage to a Slytherin these days!
Back when she had married Tobias, it had not yet been a disgrace for a younger daughter of a working class family to marry a Muggle, as long as there was a son who married appropriately to carry on the family name. And Snape was a Muggle name that witches and wizards in the Manchester area were used to hearing. Ancient Marcia Fudge had been a Snape, and Snape Muggles had produced or married witches and wizards for hundreds of years. Times were different now. These days, blood mattered even outside of the Wizarding "aristocracy".
Eileen looked at the invitation. They were to arrive at 6 p.m. at a side entrance, and woe betide them if they were not on time. Those of her class had been locked out of The Party in the past for being late. The wizards and witches of higher status would begin to appear at the main entrance around 7 p.m., and would be formally announced. The lesser witches and wizards had to be there already to provide an appreciative audience for those grand entrances.
Eileen remembered the drill from her own appearances at The Party with her half-blood parents. The Princes were traditionally Slytherin, but despite their name, had never been particularly pure of blood, and never risen above the occasional middle class shopkeeper. And now, she would go through the ordeal with Severus. But it was worth it, to have their son in Slytherin.
**************
The Snapes could not afford to home school their son, so he had been sent to the local Muggle school for the basics. Eileen's family were accustomed to this, and had developed other means to provide the introduction to magical culture so important to a Slytherin child. Eileen's mother had taught Severus the waltz and other ballroom dances; her grandfather taught him Prince family history and Slytherin tradition. Ancient grandma Marcia Fudge, a Muggle-born Snape, taught him to speak "proper English", which he was to use outside his family instead of his harsh Manchester whine. Tobias taught him Snape family lore. And Eileen had begun to school him in magic when he started to have "incidents" at the age of five.
Grandma Prince, Eileen, and Severus were standing outside of Madam Malkin's on Diagon Alley the day of The Party. Even though his mother made sure he visited Diagon Alley or some other wizarding area at least twice a year, he still found all the magical people and magical displays overwhelming.
He would have to get used it, he thought to himself, though he gave no outward sign of discomfort. For the next nine months, all the people he lived with would be wizards and witches.
Grandma Prince pushed open the door to the shop, and the three entered. They had arrived very close to opening time, so there was only one Slytherin boy waiting to be fitted ahead of them, as well as the Slytherin girl currently being attended by the couturier. They waited patiently for an hour, until it was their turn, then put their galleons on the counter. Madam Malkin looked approvingly at the sum, and then eyed the lank-limbed, lank-haired boy critically. Severus would wear a shabby, ill fitting secondhand robe to his classes at Hogwarts, and carry marked-in, secondhand books, but he left the shop with a dress robe that a Malfoy might deign to wear to a lesser Ministry function. Eileen made do by altering the dress robe she had worn to her own seventh year appearance at The Party.
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Tobias fed his ever hungry son while Eileen readied herself for The Party. "Remember, you take only one starter at a time, and only when a house-elf offers you one. You do not serve yourself." He was going over the plan Eileen had developed for The Party yet again, but Severus did not seem to mind.
"But I may take one from any witch or wizard who offers it to me," continued Severus, adding with a smirk, "especially if one of them is a Malfoy." His father smirked back, sharing the joke. As if a Malfoy would ever serve a Snape.
"When you are seated, eat only what has been served to you. Do not accept more, even if offered by a house-elf," Tobias continued. "However, be sure to accept any additional food offered by another witch or wizard, even though you may only eat a bite or two." It was essential that his son not appear at all hungry -- that was the reason for the full supper before leaving for The Party. However, it would help his status if he could get himself served by another witch or wizard. It would be quite a coup if it were a higher class person, but that was unlikely for a Snape.
"Under no circumstances am I to bring any food or drink to another guest, unless to a Malfoy," Severus went on. "What about the Blacks, or Professor Slughorn, or the other purebloods?" he asked. He knew, of course, all the pureblood lines in Wizarding Britain and Ireland.
"If you're asked to serve a Black, you must cause an accident with the tray the other person is holding, and blame it on a house-elf, " said his father. "The Blacks would be excellent patrons, but Walpurga Black is insane on the question of Muggles. There is absolutely no chance they would take on someone with a Muggle father. Serving one of them would only lower your status. As for other purebloods, use your judgement. We're trying to get a Malfoy to take you under his patronage, but it's a high goal. If you think it makes sense, you can aim for someone else suitable. You can always try for a Malfoy again next year, after you've made a bit of a name for yourself at Hogwarts."
Eileen appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and the sitting room. She had not been able to hide completely where she had mended one sleeve on the hopelessly out of date robe, or the slightly lighter area around the waist where the stain removing charm had removed a bit of the robe's color as well. Her pearl necklace and earrings were paste, and her upswept black hair, although elegant, was clearly not done by a hairdresser or a house-elf, since it had none of the fussiness that was the current style.
And yet, Tobias rose from the kitchen table and bowed gracefully to her. He took Eileen's short-fingered hand in his much paler, long-fingered hand, and raised it to his lips. For a moment, it seemed to Severus that his mother was the queen of England, and his father her favored manservant. He blinked his eyes, and saw once again the dowdy middle-aged working class witch, as he went up the stairs to put on his own dress robes. But the other image never faded completely from his memory.
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Eileen Side-Along Apparated Severus with her to the designated entrance at 5:55 p.m. She was not happy to recognize many of the witches and wizards who were already there, all at least as shabbily attired as she. She took little consolation in the splendid effect her son's appearance made in the gathering -- the company meant that she and Severus were ranked at the bottom end of the scale.
Severus looked around at the other wizards and witches. There was one other first year there, Walden Macnair. He compared himself favorably with the crowd, and was happy to see that even his mother did not come out too badly in the comparison. His face bore an expression of carefully composed indifference. He offered his arm to his mother, and she took it. He was tall for an eleven year old, taking after his father for height, and his mother was short, so the height difference was not very great. Severus fancied himself quite grownup and elegant, as he stepped up to the door with his mother on his arm.
They were greeted by a manservant dressed in expensive green and silver livery. Eileen inclined her head the barest fraction of an inch, trying for a look of disdain at being greeted by a mere servant, and achieving only a scowl. The servant kept his head high, giving no further notice to the crass woman. It was the first test.
Severus moved his head not at all, lifted his right upper lip in the barest hint of a sneer, and arched his right eyebrow the merest fraction of an inch. His icy black eyes stared straight into the manservant's grey ones. The man could not maintain eye contact, but bowed to Severus and Eileen, waving them in. Severus smirked for a split second in satisfaction, before re-establishing indifference on his face. They were the only guests arriving at that entrance that would receive a bow from the doorman that evening.
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Lucius watched the bottom rung witches and wizards arrive at the west servants' entrance through a wall sized charmed mirror. They were mostly expendable, but sometimes useful talent showed up in this group. Such tended to be gratifyingly grateful, and conveniently willing to settle for less payback than the next group up.
"Ah, there's Snape," he thought, meaning the first year boy and not the woman. He watched approvingly as the boy stared down the intimidating servant they had purposely stationed there. He'd never seen Huligan cowed at this door before. "Good, Snape," Lucius thought. "Very good." The plain witch in the atrocious robe on Snape's arm did not register at all.
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Eileen felt herself reverting to the sullen, scowling girl she had been during her days at Hogwarts. She recognized herself slighted at every turn, and felt like a coarse servant girl who had wandered into her mistress's party by accident. Painful memories of other Parties returned, where she had fetched and carried like a house-elf, and only been mocked for her trouble. Then she saw Lucius Malfoy approach her son, looking through her as if she were invisible. She silently slipped her hand from her boy's arm, and stepped aside.
"Hello, old boy," Lucius said jovially, clapping Severus on the shoulder. "What's going on here? Why aren't you eating?" The seventeen-year-old with the silky white blond hair raised his hand lazily, and a house-elf appeared. "Pumpkin juice and caviar canapes for Mr. Snape," he drawled, neither looking at the elf, nor asking Severus what he wanted. He knew that Severus would never have tasted caviar, and he knew it could provoke quite a reaction from someone who didn't know what to expect.
Severus was shocked at the sudden attention. He had hoped to worm his way over to Lucius or one of his cousins as the evening progressed. He had certainly not expected to be greeted by Lucius himself, and that before they were even seated to dinner. But neither his face nor his manner betrayed his surprise.
"I'm afraid I was so busy admiring the portraits that I forgot to eat," he said, reciting one of the many phrases he had practiced in preparation for this evening.
Lucius smiled, noticing the slightly stilted delivery. "Why Severus, I thought you from the Manchester area. You certainly don't sound it."
Severus had no idea what to say to that, and arched an eyebrow, as he often did when he was stymied. Lucius, however, remembered Snape's handling of the doorman, and thought Snape was indicating that an answer was beneath him. Lucius stood with a drink in his hand and a smile on his lips, trying to decide whether he should consider this a slight, or be pleased with Snape's composure.
The house-elf arrived with the food and drink, and Lucius came to a decision. He would see how Snape handled the caviar.
"Here you go." Lucius handed Severus a plate with canapes. "You simply must tell me what you think of these."
Severus took the plate, feeling that things were going quite well indeed. The black spread reminded him of chocolate. He had no idea what caviar was; he knew only that it was something very expensive. He bit into the canape, and instead of sweetness, encountered a salty fish taste. But once more, his face did not betray his surprise. He finished the canape in two more bites.
Smiling slightly, Severus thanked Lucius. "I defer to your superior judgement," he said, inclining his head in a shallow bow.
"Of course you do," Lucius smiled patronizingly. "You don't mind if I tend to our other guests, do you, old man? Do stop by for a chat after dinner, will you?"
"As you wish," and once again Severus inclined his head. He reached for the pumpkin juice the elf was holding for him, and sipped it thoughtfully. Yes, this was going quite well, he thought.
Eileen avoided her son for the rest of the evening. Severus had a patron, and it was Lucius Malfoy.
Prologue: Slytherin Heart
Tobias looked down at the scrawny black-eyed boy glaring up at him.
"They deserved it, Da. They've been stealing my books and stuff since the second week of school. Why is it okay for them but not for me?"
"Sit down, Salazar." The man waved his son to the faded, threadbare sofa in the front room, and settled himself on the equally shabby armchair with the matching pattern.
The boy relaxed somewhat at the sound of his middle name, which only Mum or Dad ever used, but the glare did not soften.
"I'm not going to defend the Wizarding rules against underage magic. Your hex was well controlled, and your Muggle classmates will never know that they were victims of magic. You did not endanger the barrier between Muggles and the Wizarding world."
Salazar's mouth dropped open in an expression of surprise that, at the age of eleven he could still be shocked into displaying. Later, his control would become so good that no one would ever see any reaction he didn't deliberately allow them to see. This was not the lecture he was expecting.
Tobias smiled faintly at the unintended emotional display that he could still occasionally evoke from his son.
"I accept the necessity of the separation of Muggles and wizards, and I even accept the restriction on underage magic, in general," Tobias continued. "But I don't accept any Ministry law without question." He paused. "Salazar, why did you hex those boys?"
The boy hesitated. The answer was obvious -- therefore, it was a trick question. He did not want to ask his father what he meant unless he couldn't figure it out for himself.
Tobias watched the gears turn in the boy's head, and the dark glare turn to cold emptiness as his son turned within himself.
"I wanted to get revenge," he started, slowly. "I wanted them to stop bothering me."
"All right," said his father. "And what did you expect the consequences to be, when you broke the Ministry law?"
"I know you and Mum think the law is stupid," he answered quickly. "You'd stick up for me."
"And why would we do that?" the man responded.
Salazar's eyes widened, then turned cold again as he began to process this new information.
"What will the Ministry do to me, then?" he asked tonelessly.
"It was very unwise to break a Ministry law without knowing exactly what power the Ministry had over you, and without lining up support ahead of time," his father said coolly. "Your mother has the relevant sections of the code on your desk in your room. I expect you to read it and give us both a full report after dinner. But in short, the consequences can be quite severe -- more severe than your mother and I are willing to allow. So we will indeed stand up for you, pay the fine, and impose a discipline that is acceptable to the Ministry."
Now Salazar's face burned with shame. The Snapes were not well off, and he knew the fine would be a hardship. But mostly, he was furious with himself for not anticipating the consequences of his act. He didn't even know how much the fine might be. Or what the "unallowably" severe consequences were.
"I'm sorry, Da," he mumbled softly, eyes downcast.
"We are confiscating your wand, and banning all use of magic in the house for one month," Tobias said.
"Yes, sir", the boy sighed, turning his empty eyes respectfully back to his father.
The two sat in heavy silence for several moments, and the boy dropped his head again.
"Salazar." Tobias went over to sit next to his son on the sofa, and put his hand on his shoulder. The boy looked up at his father, eyes still empty to cover the shame he felt.
"This is about more than knowing the consequences of your actions," the man continued. "There may come a day when you will accept far worse consequences than this for something even more important. When you will not be able to live with yourself if you do not accept them. And if I'm still alive when that day comes, it will be the proudest day of my life."
His son's eyes bored into his with an intense curiosity that would have unnerved Tobias if he hadn't had long familiarity with it.
"You must know what that highest value is, Salazar. You must know what is worth any consequence to defend."
"What is it, Da?" the eleven-year-old asked.
"You must decide that for yourself, " Tobias answered, "and it will probably change over time. When I was your age, it was entering the Wizarding world." His son smiled faintly, remembering the familiar story of his father's initial decision to become a part of the magical world. "Now, it is my family."
Then Tobias' voice became silky and dangerous, and he was gratified that he could still elicit fear from his son's eyes, however carefully the child controlled it.
"Don't ever let me see you cause harm to this family for anything less than what you value most. And even then, even though I'll be proud of you, I will fight you with everything I have. Don't ever doubt that."
"No, sir." The boy shuddered, hoping it never came to that, even though his father was just a Muggle.
Then the boy his classmates knew as Severus went up to his room to study Ministry law.
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Author's note:
The "familiar story of his father's initial decision to become a part of the magical world" is described in my one-shot, "A Decision", also on The Pensieve.
Tobias Snape decided when he was eleven years old that he would marry a witch. That was the age when he found out that his great-granny Fudge was a witch. He'd suspected it for some time, but he finally caught her "Scourgifying" her dishes when he came home earlier than usual from school one day. He usually walked home from school to Granny's, had a snack, and then did his homework until Mum or Dad picked him up after work.
This had happened before, unbenownst to Tobias, but the other times his Granny had Obliviated the memory. This time she didn't. "The boy is more a Squib than a Muggle, anyway. He may not have magic himself, but he can definitely feel it," she thought to herself.
Things got a little dicey when she actually called herself a witch. "Magic" Tobias expected, but a witch meant devil-worship, didn't it? Well, Granny explained that, but then the real stickler was when Tobias found out he wasn't going to be a wizard.
"Your parents weren't magic, but you still ended up being a witch. How do you know I won't be a wizard? After all, it's in the family," he argued. And he was right. Some families turned up a blue-eyed child in a family of brown-eyes, or a webbed hand every so often (Tobias knew a kid at school renowned for the web between the thumb and index finger on each hand -- it was even better than the kid who could touch his nose with his tongue). The Snapes seemed to turn up a witch or wizard every third generation or so.
"That's right, Toby. That's why I keep an eye on all the grandchildren and grand nieces and nephews," she answered. "But the fact is, you're eleven now, and if you were a wizard it would show by now. You would have done magic when you were scared or angry."
This lead to a long exploration of every incident in Toby's life that could possibly be construed as inexplicable or strange to an eleven-year-old boy, including the time his mother had figured out who stole the last piece of cake from the fridge. When he had exhausted that tack, Toby made himself angry. Really angry. And tried to do magic. Granny sat there patiently the whole time, and didn't try to make him stop.
Finally, Toby called a truce. He wasn't giving up for good, but decided to give up for now. Then an idea occurred to him. Even if he wasn't magical himself, he knew that magical people existed. Maybe he could live around them.
At this point, Granny was seriously reconsidering her decision not to Obliviate her great grandson. "Muggles do not live among wizarding folk," she insisted. "It's a law."
"But you said I was more like a Squib than a Muggle," Toby insisted. "You said there are people who can't do magic who live with people who can." And then, in a burst of inspiration, something else occurred to him. "Besides, your parents were both Muggles, and you lived with them."
"Well, yes," Granny hemmed and hawed. "Muggle parents of witches and wizards do have some interaction with the wizarding world. But it's very unlikely you'd have a witch or wizard as a child. Though of course it does happen from time to time with the Snapes."
"But what if I married a witch? Wouldn't I have a better chance of having a magical child then?"
"Actually, you definitely would have a magical child then. The child of a Muggle and a witch or wizard is almost always magical."
"Then all I have to do is marry a witch," said Toby.
He continued to try to do magic for a while by making himself angry or sad, but at the age of eleven, he had a backup plan. He was going to marry a witch.