Ch 4 The Duel and the Feud

Something happened unexpectedly. She gripped their hands with a ferocious strength and her eyes glazed over. She seemed to be looking around in a daze and murmuring. A faint current that felt like electricity was making a circuit of their hands.

Snape was frantically trying to withdraw his and said, "I knew it!"

Harry was too busy watching this transformation take place to pull his hand away. Mariah's face paled and she stared out into space, her hair grew more voluminous and had a faint tinge of chestnut color. Harry looked into her eyes that changed from a non-descript hazel to a grassy green. The face was familiar.

"I forget…" she muttered and swung her head back and forth as if seeing something different then the drab kitchen where they sat. "Oh, I remember!"

"Who are you?" Harry gasped, enthralled by what he was seeing.

She stared back and answered, "I…I'm Lily. I'm Lily Evans."

Harry felt himself tumbling, along with a filmy disembodied figure at his shoulder- down into her mind.

He opened his eyes and stared out across a grassy lawn and saw the tall spires of the white castle. They were at Hogwarts on a fine spring day and he was walking arm-in-arm with James Potter. Two other figures strolled next to them and one trailed behind; Remus Lupin and Sirius Black and the latter, Peter Pettigrew. Ahead of him were tents of various colors all pitched along an avenue, their steepled, peaked roofs flew flags of the house colors. The diamond-studded waves on the lake were dotted with sailboats and white sails. People strolled the grounds, parents and their children along with pupils from the school. The students were wearing special cloaks for the day and each had a cap of their house color.

Graduation day! Harry thought. Somewhere, crowded into the mind along with him was Snape. He realized that the figure that fell into this mind was that of his potion's teacher nearby. Where are we? he questioned.

Snape looked at him and without moving his lips said, I told you that she is a gypsy. An untrained, ungoverned mind is dangerous.

Harry looked back through her eyes. They were walking towards a couple that had stopped to speak to other parents.

"Hello Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter," Lily said. Harry was behind her eyes looking out through them at a world long since passed.

The man smiled at her from beneath a full, handle-bar moustache touched with gray. He had warm gray eyes and apple-red cheeks. "Come now, Lily. You are soon to be my daughter, not daughter-in-law, just daughter. You must call us Henry and Liz." He turned to the woman near him with blond hair. "Isn't that right, Liz-beth? Our new daughter must call us by our names." The woman smiled sweetly and nodded.

"Alright, Henry," Lily said allowed him to hug her and noticing that James was grinning sheepishly, Sirius was smiling and Remus blushing shyly. Why must you always be so shy Remus, she thought. She stepped back and took James arm again.

It feels good to have parents, she thought and Harry listened, since I have none of my own to speak of.

As a group, they strolled through the tents and chatted. Lily was feeling happy and smiling as they all listened to Sirius. He was telling them once again about having gotten a letter from the Ministry urging him to apply for a position. She glanced ahead and sucked in her breath, pulling back on James' arm.

They all looked up at the same time to see Brutus Snape talking heatedly to Dumbledore. As they drew near, the man dressed in an immaculate white summer suit and cloak, stepped away from their headmaster and turned their way. Lily noticed that a few steps behind him a tall woman, dressed in a gown of white and wearing a wide-brimmed summer bonnet stopped and dropped her gaze to the ground. Her arm was wrapped into that of her son's. Harry almost didn't recognize the young Snape

Severus stood by his mother holding her arm and looking out towards the lake. Lily noted that this was not the typical Severus they knew or saw in classes and on the grounds. This Severus was as well groomed as his father. He stood near his mother, wearing his dark midnight blue suit, a watch chain across the front of his vest, standing in highly polished black leather boots. His hair was clean and combed and he looked altogether like a different person.

Brutus Snape stopped short and exclaimed, "Well, if it isn't the Potters."

Lily studied the tall man with the brown hair and the dark brown eyes. He was extremely attractive. What gave him away was the cruelness in the eyes.

"Hello, Brutus," Henry Potter replied." Fine day it is t send our children out into the world. And how are you Mrs. Snape?" The man spoke very kindly towards the lady who was staring at the ground demurely.

Brutus Snape glared at Henry Potter and stepped in front of his wife who seemed to cower behind him. Severus held his mother's arm more firmly and remained silent. "I see you're still letting your son run around with these half-bloods, Henry. I was just complaining to Dumbledore about how many he has allowed to attend Hogwarts this term. Merlin's beard, Henry! How many times to I have to repeat myself. They are diluting the strength of the pureblood families, can't you see?"

Henry Potter blanched at the outburst and slowly and quietly said, "This is not the time or place to talk politics, Brutus."

"Of course you wouldn't want to talk about this Henry. I hear you are going to let your only son marry one of them!" The cruel eyes swept over their heads and stopped on Lily. The glance was almost a leer. "Dirty the blood. That's what it'll do. I wouldn't let my son near one."

"How dare you insult Lily!" Sirius had leapt forward. His face was flushed with anger. "Your… your son! Why your son is the class coward, Snape. We call him Ol' Snivellus Snape! He's nothing compared to Lily. He's dirt under her shoes. You and your pureblood nonsense!"

James had his eyes closed and was wincing at every word. Remus stepped up and tried putting his hand on Sirius' arm to stop him and the Potters were paling as he spoke. They all knew that Brutus Snape was a very powerful and rich man. He consorted with many pureblood aristocracy including the Malfoy's, the Nott's and others; to cross him was to ask for trouble.

"And you, a Black!" Brutus Snape hissed. "You are an embarrassment to your parents. It is no wonder they disowned you. I insist that you apologize to my son. Severus!" He whirled on Severus who was flushing red with embarrassment and fear. He was gazing at Lily and she was looking back with a sad, longing look on her face. She knew that he had not heard the news of her engagement to James. She wanted to be the one to tell him first.

Severus let his mother's arm go and he stepped forward, his voice tremulous, "Yes, father." Brutus turned to Sirius who was almost foaming at the mouth and struggling to free himself from Lupin's hold, as if he would throw himself bodily at the man.

"I will not apologize to that…that slime ball!" Sirius spat.

James reached for him this time and shouted, "Sirius, stop it. That's enough!" Remus pulled the other arm and the two held him.

"This calls for a duel of honor," Brutus Snape said to Henry Potter.

"Now, Brutus," Henry Potter said soothingly. "They are just boys. Do we want to involve ourselves in childish disputes."

"The Snape name has been impugned, Potter. They are not children, they are of age, adults," The man said seething. "We will have a duel Potter. It will either be between you and me or between Black and my son. Which shall it be?"

Henry Potter was staring back in disbelief. Lily knew that for the two older men to duel would almost certainly start an all-out war. Everyone knew that Brutus Snape was secretly supporting Tom Riddle who had taken to calling himself Lord Voldemort.

Day by day more people were taking Riddle's side. He proclaimed to be the savior of the wizarding world. The one who would cleanse it of the 'dirtied blood'. In the meantime, Lily also knew that people like the Potters were trying to combat the movement with one of their own. They, too, had been organizing others to help them fight; the Longbottoms, Finnigans and even Headmaster Dumbledore was helping.

Severus was looking at his father with horror, his mother was mewling pathetically behind them and James was staring at Sirius as if he had grown a second head.

"I'll fight you!" Sirius gasped breathlessly, this time it was with James' arm around his neck trying to choke off his words.

"Shut it, Sirius!" James growled.

"Very well," Brutus Snape said with a grim smile. "This evening after the ceremony, here on the grounds, at ten." Snape turned sharply towards his wife and took her by the arm leaving Severus gazing after for a second. The boy looked back at them; James holding Sirius, Lupin gaping at Sirius and Lily frowning at the younger Snape. He turned slowly and followed his father.

Harry could feel his mother's anguish, could hear each sound perfectly, could smell the grass, the fragrance of new flowers and feel the coolness of the summer breeze. He looked over at the shadow that was his companion. Snape was bent as if in pain, his face turned away and his shoulders shaking. Harry floated in the netherworld of his mother's mind as the scenery changed.

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It was dark. Torches lit the area where the tents were pitched. The ceremonies had ended but the people had not gone home. They were gathering.

Lily Evans stole away from the small group that included her new fiancée, his friends and parents and searched the tents until she found the right one. Brutus Snape, his wife and some of their friends, which included Lucius Malfoy, were gathering just outside a green tent; a Slytherin tent. She found an opening and yanked it up to slide underneath. He was there.

"Severus," she whispered urgently.

He turned and she could tell that he had been crying. He was in his old school clothes, all black and he was sitting on a bench.

"Why are you here?" he groaned. "Go away!"

She walked over and sat down and tried to take his hand. He drew it back.

"You can't fight Sirius," she said quietly and gently. "Sirius will hurt you."

Severus stared into the dark of the tent and shook his head. They could hear laughter outside the tent. "It doesn't matter Lily. If I don't fight him, my father will kill me."

She gulped in fear. She knew that he wasn't exaggerating. Brutus Snape would surely hurt him badly if he refused to fight. She tried to sound reassuring, "But Sirius is really good at dueling. Listen, I have a plan."

He turned to her before she could continue and asked, "You're going to marry Potter aren't you?" Grief was etched in his face.

"Severus," she began and took his hand in her own. "Your such a dear. I wouldn't hurt you for the world, but we've talked about this before."

He jerked his hand from hers and stood. "I know. You don't love me!"

"No. No I don't," she answered calmly and stood to face him. "But I do care. It won't matter who wins tonight and you know it. This isn't really about the two of you dueling. This sets the stage. If you win then Voldemort and your father and Victor Malfoy, his son Lucius and all the rest- they'll call for our blood. Remember me Severus, I'm a mud blood. You said it yourself. They'll make sure the world is rid of us." She felt great compassion for him mixed with true fear of what would happen to her kind.

He looked at her and accepted her touch. "You know I didn't mean it. It's just that... that…Black. He's….well...he deserves to get stomped."

"Never mind that!" Lily gasped. "If Sirius beats you, he'll be killed. You know it'll happen. Your father and his friends will do it. He's not a Black anymore, he's left his family. Severus, you know he was just being so stupid this afternoon. He's hotheaded and he never thinks before he acts." She shook her head in frustration. " He such an embarrassment to all the purebloods and he knows it. He rubs it in their faces. The point is, you can't beat him and we both know it."

Severus nodded slowly. The voices outside were getting louder. "What is your plan?"

"Let James fight you instead," she answered quickly. "You're better matched anyway. It'll look better. You have to agree to this Severus and I know that I can talk him into it. You've both got to have a draw, neither of you can win."

"Potter?" he winced and drew back. "But Lily! He's no better than Black."

"That's not true and you know it. You're just mad because I'm going to marry him."

Severus was frowning and didn't look as if he would agree. She continued, "You owe him your life," she reminded him. "You'll both be punished," she looked at him with sympathy, " but it won't lead to war. Do this for me. I'll handle Sirius."

Severus gazed at her and dropped his head. "Lily…"

"Just do it for me and I will promise you….," she didn't finish, but reached out and

touched his arm. "It's for all of us. We've got to think beyond the grounds of Hogwarts. We're of age now. What happened to you during school was between children. We're grown now and we've got to stop this war. Will you do it?"

Severus nodded slowly and Lily wrapped her arms around him, gave him a hug and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Severus you will always be my friend. If you ever need my help you will have it."

"What about Potter?" he said dully.

She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and looked him straight in the eyes, "You have my word. Whenever you need my help all you have to do is ask."

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Mariah withdrew her hands from theirs and spread them on the table. "I'm not sure about what I'm feeling or thinking right now, although I think I in shock." she said. "But I have this picture in my mind. Sometimes I think it is a dream and sometimes it feels very real." She looked up with eyes that sparkled from fresh tears and lashes that held the last tiny wet diamonds. "I have these visions all the time and I've always ignored them. Now, I'm here and you tell me that such things are commonplace and I've not gone mental. Imagine that! Probably everyone sees the future." She looked at both of them for some kind of affirmation. "Anyway, I saw this sorcerer and I thought it was a nightmare. He was so horrible and...so powerful! If that's what you saved me from I'm grateful."

Snape and Harry looked at each other quickly and then back to her. She didn't know what had just happened; had been unaware that she had been a channel for Harry's dead mother. and for her memories.

Harry was shaking his head slowly, flexing his hand that felt numb from her recent grip. He started talking to answer her and to give himself time to pull himself together, "True seers are very rare here, Mariah." He was thinking of Professor Trelawney. He went on, conscious of Snape's presence across the table and the knowledge he now had. He continued, "It's going to be hard to explain but magic is used for almost everything in daily life. But there are things that wizards and witches can't do any better than most muggles. I'm only just learning myself."

Snape was just out of his line of vision and Harry could hear him breathing in the stillness of the kitchen.

She nodded at Harry as she listened and then shook her head. "Well, I will try to learn quickly. In the meantime, I am very tired."

"Oh! Of course," Snape said, quickly as if to delay the questioning and the answers. "I have been neglectful. It's almost daylight and you haven't slept. Potter, show her up to one of the rooms." He snaped the order at Harry.

"Why do you do that?" she asked, looking up at him. "You treat me with such kindness and I am a stranger. Harry is your student and you speak so cruelly to him. In there," she nodded at the door indicating the drawing room where they had been earlier, "you talked about him as if you cared about him."

Snape flushed red and his jaw was working. He was flustered. Harry knew that all Snape wanted to do was get away from both of them as quickly as he could. Harry felt the need to be alone too and think about what had happened. He admired Snape for having such composure.

"Madam," Snape began.

She stood and looked up, studying his face with such fierceness that he stopped. "You may call me Mariah and I will call you Severus and I expect that you will address Harry by his first name, at least when he is not in school. Harry show me to a bedroom and a place where I can wash up." She was still looking at Snape and talking to him. "I will sleep for a few hours."

They both nodded obediently.

"I don't imagine I will know how to cook you breakfast here," she looked around at the kitchen. "So I will expect one of you to do it. Then we will begin lessons." She looked at Snape. "Since you are a teacher, then you can teach me. Will you bring Bantu by before morning?"

Snape nodded and folded his hands in front of him, he looked almost docile, like the boy that Harry had seen in Mariah's vision and through his own mother's eyes.

Mariah turned to Harry, "You'll have a job too. I think you owe me a story."

Harry stopped halfway out of his chair. "A story?"

She nodded, and said, "Yes. I think you have a lot to tell me about yourself and…and this horrible sorcerer you must face and I want you to find me something to play, a musical instrument of some kind. I would think that a house as big as this would have a music room. You do have music in this world don't you" She raised an eyebrow and didn't allow either of them to finish. "Of course, every civilization has music. Also, maybe there is a garden or a place to breath fresh air. I think this house needs airing out and cleaning. It smells like death."

She headed out of the room and stopped. Her back was to them. "I've had many premonitions since meeting you Harry. I think tomorrow we need to talk about what to do about this Dark Lord who has these telepathic powers." She stepped through the door and stopped to say very quietly, "If I am to start believing in my visions then you should know; I have this sense that he is hiding in the muggle world and not in this one. Maybe I can help you find him. Maybe I will serve some purpose here." She disappeared down the hall and left them standing gaping after her.

Harry started to follow and Snape asked him under his breath as he went by, "Can you cook anything?" Harry stopped and stared at him and slowly shook his head. Snape looked at him and asked, "What are telepathic powers?"

Harry swallowed hard and said, "My aunt follows a recipe when she cooks. It's like combining ingredients for a potion. They have cookbooks that have recipes in them. Most muggles keep them in the kitchen." He stepped through the door after Mariah and then turned back to the man who stood stiffly in the center of the room, and said, "Telepathic powers means reading someone's mind."

With his back to him Harry added, "Professor? I'm sorry. When I was snooping in the Pensieve that day… and today, I'm …I'm just sorry. I don't mean to always be violating your privacy." He left without hearing a reply. He had a hundred questions that he knew he couldn't ask.

He climbed the stairs and showed Mariah the room that Hermione and Ginny had taken the year before . He found his own room, the one he shared with Ron. He lit a candle, dropped off his clothes and fell on top of the covers. His head ached and he needed time to think.

He'd been rescued from Mariah's house by Snape and they were in Sirius' house. It was so familiar and yet, so empty and lonely. Harry expected to hear Sirius thundering down the hallway on his way to somewhere, going at it full throttle.

Then, there had been Mariah's vision with him just lurking behind his mother's eyes, sitting there watching like a voyeur what must have eventually become the feud of the century.

And then there was Snape. He rubbed his face vigorously as if that would rub out the shame and embarrassment he felt. How are we ever going to look at one another in the morning, he wondered and fell promptly to sleep.