Severus officially chose a side in June. The OWLS and NEWTS had been completed, and there was a Hogsmeade day to celebrate. Most of the students in third year and above were out in the village, relaxing in the beautiful weather and ignoring the exams some of them had the following week.

It was about noon when it started. All the sudden, several Death Eaters apparated into the village.

"Those who support the one, true cause, stand with us!" the leader shouted. "All others, face your death!"

The Death Eaters opened fire, shooting spells left and right, and many witches and wizards desperately tried to run for cover. Meanwhile, some of the older students stepped aside, bowing to the Death Eaters and joining the fight.

Severus raised his wand, throwing up a shield as he looked around. Across the street, by the pub, Daniel Greengrass stood with several of his friends, protecting the younger students as they ran to safety. Severus shielded, moving slowly across the street to join Daniel.

Right as he made it, he saw Flitwick jogging alongside Sirius, Abbott, and Alton. Abbott and Alton threw up a joint shield, as Flitwick and Sirius split, one left and one right. The duo threw curse after curse at the Death Eaters, clearly in sync with each other. And, unlike Dumbledore's motley group, they were not throwing simple stunners and incarcerouses. No, while all the curses would never be considered illegal or evil, they were dangerous. Death Eater after Death Eater fell until only two remained. With a pop, they disapperated. As Flitwick called for Madam Pomphrey, Severus couldn't help but remark how well Sirius fought, and how well he worked with Flitwick.

Summer brought more Death Eater attacks, but for Severus, it was the best summer he had had in years. He spent most days at Lily's house, and carefully avoided his father whenever he was home. I was the end of July when Lily invited him to accompany her to the Harvest Festival.

"I've never been, of course, but the Equinox was just so…"

Severus nodded in agreement. While he couldn't describe it in words, he knew exactly what Lily meant.

"Sirius says the Harvest Festival is very different from the Equinox. Less ceremony and more party."

"Where is the festival? And who will be there?"

"Oh, the festival is in Northumberland, in Kielder Forrest. Apparently, a section of it is unplottable and there is an all wizarding settlement there."

"I thought Hogsmeade was the only all wizarding town."

"It is not registered as such with the Ministry because technically it is all part of one property, Castle Deorc."

"Deorc?"

"Sirius says it is the ancestral home of the Blacks. His grandfather owns it."

"Lily, I don't know if it…"

Lily smiled. "I know you are concerned because I am muggleborn and it is the Black family, but Sirius invited me and I am not the only muggleborn who will be there."

Severus sighed. "Let me think about it."

Lily beamed and kissed him on the check.

Later that night, Severus sat at his desk, contemplating what to write. His détente with Sirius had softened into- however reluctant he was to admit it- an off sort of friendship. Yet, Sirius' family tried to kill Sirius. His cousin was one of the Dark Lord's most deadly killers. It would be stupid for him not to worry. So, he wrote.

Sirius,

Lily tells me you have invited her to your ancestral castle to celebrate the Harvest Festival. In the spirit of you following me around Hogsmeade on several occasions, I must ask you what are your intentions? And will she be safe? Furthermore, if you convince me to let her go, I will be accompanying her. Do not try to dissuade me of this decision.

Severus Snape

Severus wasn't sure what to expect when the portkey activated, taking him and Lily off to Castle Deorc. All he can say was he was not expecting an actual castle. They landed in what appeared to be a receiving room with a slight bump, Lily stumbling forward before she caught her balance. The walls were made of old stone, with tapestries handing down the sides. There was a large fireplace with a pair of swords crossed in front of a shied above it.

"Wow," breathed Lily, looking around the room. "It is very…"

"Medieval?" proposed Severus.

"Yes. It almost feels a bit like Hogwarts," she remarked. "I wonder what we are supposed to do now?"

"I apologize for my Grandson's manners, Miss Evans and Mr. Snape. I do believe Sirius is still picking out his outfit for this afternoon."

"Pleased to meet you Lord Black," Severus greeted with a slight bow. Lord Black was a thin man, with grey hair and a stiff posture. He wore an elegant black outer robe over an embroidered silver under robe. Severus could tell the outfit cost more than everything he owned together.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance," Lily added with a slightly awkward curtsey.

"None of that," Lord Black said smiling. "You are here as friends of my Grandson for the festival. And the Harvest Festival is no time to stand on ceremony," he laughed. "Come, follow me. We shall head to the living room. I am sure Sirius will join us shortly, just after he has finished preening. Dippy!" he called, waiting until a house elf appeared. "Take the guests' luggage to their rooms. They shall be staying in the upper guest rooms."

"Yes Master Black. Dippy will put them in the Lavender and Green Rooms."

Lord Black nodded, and the elf disappeared with a slight pop. A few minutes later, they entered a large living room, with several comfortable looking chairs and a wall of books.

"Wow," breathed Lily, taking in the room. "I wish I had a library like this."

"Then I'll have to show you the library," greeted Sirius from the doorway. "This is just a collection of books that are safe. Feel free to read any of them, but the library is off limits unless you are accompanied by a Black. That goes for both of you," he added with a smirk at Severus.

Severus simply nodded, looking at Sirius. Like his Grandfather, he wore an elegant but simple black outer robe. His inner robe, however, was a splendid emerald green, and he wore a pair of knee-high black dragon skin boots. It was entirely different from the untucked school shirt and ratty muggle clothes he favored while at Hogwarts. Combined with his long hair tucked back in a cue and the silver capped cane he lent on, he looked every part the Heir of Black. It suited him well, and was an interesting transformation.

"You look well," Severus greeted, suddenly aware of just how shabby even his best robes looked.

"Thank you," Sirius responded, sounding sincere. "Grandfather, may I show my friends around the village? We will be back for dinner at seven."

"Yes you may. But take them by Aethels'. She will provide them with everything they need for Friday."

"Of course, Grandfather. Lily, Severus, if you would?" he asked, holding out his arm to Lily.

As the trio made their way through the castle to the entryway, Lily and Severus looked about in wonder. It really did feel a bit like Hogwarts, but more real somehow. Hogwarts had grown out of a castle, but Castle Deorc was still very much a functioning castle.

Once they were outside the castle in the fresh air, Sirius sighed loudly, rolling his shoulders back and settling into a bit more of his usual posture.

"So what do you think of Castle Deorc?"

"It is amazing!" exclaimed Lily, catching a glance at it from the outside. "Did you grow up here?"

Severus flinched as a dark look settled on Sirius' face for a moment before he managed to hide it. "No, I didn't. I grew up in Walburga and Orion's townhouse in London. I was only here for holidays and occasional lessons during my childhood. Once I started Hogwarts the visits dropped off."

"Oh," Lily nodded, sensing this wasn't a subject Sirius wanted to talk about.

"Can you tell us about the village?" Severus asked, hoping to segue into a safer topic.

"Of course. Kielder Clearing started out as a small collection of farms where people lived under the safety of Castle Deorc. You see, the forest used to hold a large number of arcomuntula, boggarts, and such. It's actually how the castle got its name."

"What does Deorc mean?" Lily asked, intrigued. While nobody liked Binns' lessons, Lily loved to hear stories.

"Deorc means evil in Old English. The castle was built around 1400 years ago as a way to fight back against the evil of the forest and provide a safe haven for witches and wizards to settle. Hence Castle Evil, or Deorc. This actually how my family got its name. My great to the umpteenth grandfather, Cepheus paid for the construction of the castle. The family became known as the Family of Deorc. After the Wizengamont was established, rules and laws regarding good and evil magic came into place. With Evil magic being outlawed, you can imagine the family didn't want to be known as the Family of Evil. Arcturus I changed his name from Deorc to Blœc, which eventually became Black. Of course, Black has come to mean not just power, law, authority, and magic in the wizarding world, but evil as it did in the muggle world."

"But your family is known as evil…" Lily trailed off.

"Unfortunately so, but it is actually a rather recent development. My Grandfather is still known as a man of honor and integrity, even if Dumbledore's faction tries to paint him as such. It actually wasn't until after Grindewald and the rise of the Nights of Walpurgis and Dumbledore that the Blacks became evil."

"Because you are traditionalists?" Severus inquired, genuinely interested.

Sirius shook his head. "I mean, that is why Dumbledore and the Dark Lord do not like the old family, but it isn't why we are known as evil. You see, many of the Blacks actually fought against Grindewald, including my grandfathers, Pollux and Arcturus, the current Lord Black. At the time, they were good friends with even Dumbledore supporters such as Charlus Potter, James' uncle. I mean, if they weren't, Great Aunt Dorea would never have agreed to marry Charlus."

"You and Potter are cousins?"

Sirius nodded, "Of a sort. Then again, I am related to pretty much every pureblood family. But back to why we are considered evil. After the war, the Ministry was taken over by light wizards and began banning rituals and "questionable magic." Practicing the Old Ways was frowned upon, and Dumbledore actually banned all Old Holidays at Hogwarts and switched the school calendar to align with the muggle Church of England."

"So traditional families such as the Blacks joined the Dark Lord?" she asked.

Severus shook his head, and Sirius smiled. "No. The Dark Lord does not follow the Old Ways. But the Old Ways tie us very closely to magic. We grow up tuned into its power, immersed in its feeling until we turn eleven."

"You lose balance," Severus stated. "When you go to Hogwarts and leave those ways behind it is like cutting off part of your soul."

"And we go crazy. Bellatrix, Walburga, Orion, Druella, the Lestranges. So many of the Old Families. And anyone who attended Hogwarts after Dumbledore took charge is at risk."

"And the Dark Lord snatches them up, pits them against Dumbledore, providing fuel for the anti-traditionalist rage."

"Even though the anti-traditionalism is what drove them crazy. The non-traditional families no longer have this problem, because the children never developed that connection with magic."

Lily looked at them horrified. "Does Dumbledore know?"

Sirius sighed and rubbed his temples. "He does. But he knows in a generation or two, the traditionalists won't be around. We can't survive."

"You can't survive. It is what is… different about you."

Sirius nodded. "My parents truly lost it when I was about seven. And I was slipping. Am slipping when I don't have the ability to reconnect. Andromeda helped me celebrate the Yule properly again this year, and it really helped," he admitted. The Yule, only days after the incident. Sirius laughed. "It is just all so messed up. I mean, even what the Ministry and Dumbledore do teach is wrong."

Lily looked aghast at the thought of being taught wrong information. "What do you mean?"

"You've been taught there is light and dark magic, right?" Lily nodded. "Well, it's actually more like there is tame and wild magic. Tame magic means having absolute control over magic. You use wands and set spells to affect results. Wild magic is similar to accidental magic. Well, actually accidental magic is a type of wild magic. That is when magic has more control over you. Before the advent of wands, it was all wild magic. The Old Ways are designed to help you tune into nature and the magic apparent in the world. This allows you to gain some semblance of control and is what wandless magic essentially is, just at the highest level of control. When wands were introduced, they allowed people to focus the wild magic, tame it to an extent. But prior to the creation of the Wizengamont, everyone still practiced the Old Ways and still used what was called wild magic.

Slowly, as people used wands more and more, and rituals were controlled, some families began moving away from the Old Ways. Unlike what is happening now, this occurred over generations. So they didn't have the same problems with madness. Wizards relying on tame magic tended to be… more average I guess. Wands allow weaker wizards more control, increasing their skill, but also prevent the most powerful wizards from reaching their full potential. This, around 1200 was when light and dark magic became the terms. You see, because of the averaging effect of tame magic, they moved away from the traditional society, such as the village here. They also produced fewer Dark Lords, as few had the power necessary. And with the centralization of government due to the Wizengamont, the Traditional Lord lost power."