CHAPTER TEN
Severus
During my many years at spent Hogwarts, both as a student and as a teacher, I had endured many vexatious times. For instance, spending every free moment for six straight years on homework and voluntary extra assignments and then having an asinine braggart with a freakish memory, who spent his time tossing balls through hoops while riding a stick, usurp my rightful Head Boy spot by a margin of half a point had been rather irritating. Being stuck teaching a subject I was proficient in but had little passion for while the job I desired was awarded year after year to a parade of people ranging from unpardonably incompetent to downright possessed was certainly an exercise in patience. However, this year I would have gladly welcomed even a werewolf Death Eater impersonating Gilderoy Lockhart in a turban if it meant the thing that was currently being allowed to helm Defence Against the Darks Arts would be sent crawling back to under the rock from whence it came. Though Potions had never been my primary area of interest, I did enjoy teaching it under normal circumstances. I found that enjoyment to be slowly diminishing more and more with each passing day as that woman exerted her influence over every aspect of school life she possibly could. It was barely two months into the first term, and I already looked forward to next summer. With any luck Professor Dumbledore would turn out right, and the curse on the position would make short work of her.
The "educational" degrees the "High Inquisitor" kept inventing were beyond ridiculous. If she continued to pass her regulatory measures at the rate she was now, I wondered if any of us would have a job come Christmas, forget next year. At least for the moment, her attentions seemed to be focused primarily on Potter and stamping out the small flickers of resistance her own spy network had uncovered. That she had disbanded all student organisations seemingly out of the blue did not surprise any of us in the Order. We knew from our own plants at the Hog's Head what had been said when Potter and his friends held their infuriatingly obvious "secret" meeting to start a Defence Against the Dark Arts practise group. I had no issues personally with the formation of their club. I felt their frustration perhaps more than anyone, knowing first-hand that how well-schooled they were in magical defence could soon decide their ultimate survival or death once the Dark Lord moved into the open. But as much as I would have liked to openly support their idea, I knew better than to stick my thumb in Umbridge's eye. The students, however, had not yet realised that operating against a Ministry directive and risking expulsion was highly dangerous in itself at the moment. It was not known to them, after all, that there was someone still working at the Ministry who had no qualms about sending a pair of Dementors after one of their classmates. Whatever their training or lack thereof in Defence Against the Dark Arts was at the moment, the students' best all-over defence was staying inside the school walls.
Besides possibly stymying Potter and company, the latest Ministry decree had virtually no other lasting effect. All of the regular students clubs, from Charms to Gobstones, had received permission to reform immediately. All of the Quidditch teams were allowed to continue practicing, mine the very morning the decree was announced, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff before the school day was done, and Gryffindor soon after. Contrary to what one might think, I was in fact relieved when Professor Dumbledore interceded on Minerva's behalf. I wanted that Quidditch Cup back in my office because of my own team's merits. Having the Ministry essentially drop it into my lap by providing us with a less than level playing field held no appeal whatsoever.
Maybe the latest decree had accomplished what Umbridge had passed it for; I hadn't discovered any evidence that Potter was continuing with his idea of teaching his friends himself. However, if I felt even the slightest inkling that they had taken their education into their own hands after all, I would have no qualms about placing Potter in detention every single night of the week if that's what it took to keep him from being slapped with an expulsion order. No place in the world right now, not even at Headquarters with his godfather, was safer for Potter than here under Professor Dumbledore's immediate protection.
From a professional standpoint, the autumn weeks had passed relatively easily for me. Umbridge inspected another of my classes, the seventh-year N.E.W.T.s, which she deemed also quite advanced compared to the rest of the subjects in the school. She seemed satisfied for good this time, not even finding fault with the choice of potion the students were brewing. She left me with the impression I would receive no further visits from her for the time being. It seemed she needed to invest her time more effectively elsewhere. Word had spread through the castle almost instantly that Sibyl had unsurprisingly landed herself on probation. Professor Dumbledore reassured Minerva and I, relatively anxious about this new development since we knew the need for Sibyl to remain safely at Hogwarts like Potter, that there were ways to work around any decision the Ministry ultimately made. This gave me an additional sense of relief. Umbridge still had yet to comment on Avrille's and Char's current living situation. I only hoped that by maintaining my own usual standards of teaching, she would have no reason to address this slightly unusual arrangement.
At least I had been able to find an excuse for my family's presence at Hogwarts to offer the Dark Lord, one that had the potential to work with the Ministry as well if needed. I knew it was only a matter of time before another Death Eater brought the empty state of our Hogsmeade house to the Dark Lord's attention, so I had taken the initiative and informed him of our living situation myself. Giving the true reason that I feared for their safety because of him obviously would not do. I fell back on the tried and true excuse that I was concerned about the apparent sightings of Sirius Black in the country. As the man who had brought the criminal to "justice" temporarily, it was not unthinkable that I would be concerned the maniac might exact revenge on my innocent family. Of course the Dark Lord obviously knew Black was innocent, but I had been able to paint a picture of a man utterly unhinged by his time in Azkaban and desperate to get even with the people who had killed his friends, the Potters. From my first-hand observations, I lied, Black was almost as dangerous to any Death Eater as he was supposed to have been to the Muggles he "murdered."
Though it was always difficult to guess his true mind, the Dark Lord did not appear to find fault with my explanation. He vowed, with expertly contrived magnanimity, to ensure Black met with a swift end as soon as possible so my family could once again live peacefully in the village. I wished Avrille's and Char's safety did not depend on Black's ability to keep a cool head and stay hidden at Headquarters, but I could think of no other plausible excuse when I was supposed to be working wholeheartedly towards the Dark Lord's dominion over the magical world. Hopefully Black's residence at his mother's house would be of a long duration.
The day Avrille was supposed to visit Narcissa Malfoy finally arrived. We had both agreed immediately Char should not accompany her, even though the invitation had been extended to him as well. I did not think it likely Avrille was walking into a trap, but I still reckoned it would be best if she only had herself to worry about should something unexpected arise. Hopefully the Dark Lord's curiosity would be satisfied after Narcissa undoubtedly reported back to him and that would be the end of it.
I dismissed my last class of the day several minutes early, to their immense surprise, so I could return to my rooms and allow Avrille to leave on time. Fortunately Char was already awake from him nap when I entered our parlour; I had arranged a small outing for us to coincide with Avrille's absence. Avrille had already told me she was planning on stopping by Lavinia's house to help with Aurora for a few hours after her tea with Narcissa, providing plenty of time for an excursion before she came home. I had a bit of business to attend to in London, a business that I preferred to complete without her knowledge.
As soon as Avrille had left on her own mission, I scooped Char into my arms and brought him outside the castle boundaries to Disapparate. With a turn we were immediately outside the Leaky Cauldron's door, the magic of the pub rendering our sudden appearance unworthy of notice by the passing Muggles. I wished it was possible to Apparate directly into Diagon Alley. The steady flow of people was a boon to Tom the barman's business, but it was a headache for a father trying to get to an appointment with a curious toddler in tow. Fortunately, our final destination was only a short ways down the magical street, and I had scheduled the appointment with plenty of time to spare. I certainly needed the extra minutes to steer Char away from all of the things he wanted to run up and touch. I thanked the stars at least we didn't have to pass the ice cream parlour.
As it was we arrived twenty minutes early at the plaza just before Gringotts bank, outside a stately brick building bearing a row of bronze plaques beside the entrance, the most prominent reading "Barrow and Barnes, Wizards at Law." Char burned a little energy scrambling up the three flights of stairs to the law offices but still bounced around happily in the foyer, climbing up and down the many armchairs set around for waiting patrons, as I told the young witch occupying the front desk of my appointment. She paused Charming the colour of her fingernail lacquer to run a cobalt tip down a list of names and times. She looked somewhat familiar, probably a student of mine at some point. Assumedly she had not been a very good one since I couldn't recall her name for the life of me. She smiled politely yet with shadow of apprehension on her face (I wondered how many points I had docked her over the years… ) and asked for me to follow her straight through, perhaps guessing it would be difficult to "work" with Char running circles around her desk. She led Char and me down a hall panelled in dark mahogany and lined with potted plants and marble busts of famous orators to the office of Julius Barrow, my personal solicitor. I thanked the secretary before she closed the door behind her, leaving Char and me alone in silence. I instantly conjured a few of Char's toys from home, which he accepted with a slightly dubious expression. I probably should have bought him something novel in a shop on our way here to ensure his occupation.
Julius had done well for himself over the years with his law partner, mostly thanks to their reputation of utmost discretion. This well-deserved notoriety meant he could charge slightly more than others in his line of work since those clients such as me with delicate pasts were usually amenable to paying an additional fee for our personal business to be kept even more private than the law mandated. Julius's office was slightly larger than my own at Hogwarts and furnished simply but expensively. A large, cherry-wood desk stood imposingly at the centre, surrounded by several chestnut brown, dragon-leather chairs. The walls were panelled in the same dark wood as the hallway, but a row of large windows along the side, almost floor to ceiling in height, kept the room from feeling claustrophobic. The north-facing windows were bare of any treatments, perhaps as a subtle suggestion the firm and its clients had nothing to hide.
I stepped up to the glass and gazed down into plaza, watching hurrying people the size of dolls while shielding my face slightly from the descending sun to my left. A rustling followed by a smack directed my attention back into the office. I looked over my shoulder to see Char groping around on the desk. He had knocked a pile of file folders onto the floor in an attempt to reach a quill standing upright in an inkwell, his toys already lying abandoned beside him.
"Char, that's not for you," I said wearily, having already uttered that same phrase around seventy times during our walk from the Leaky Cauldron. Side-stepping the wide scattering of papers on the carpet, I gently pulled Char away.
"Feavver! Feavver!" he demanded while pointing dictatorially towards the quill and began to cry with an ear-piercing screech. I conjured one of my own quills from my office, vanishing Char's unwanted toys away with an additional wand sweep.
"Is this what you want?" I asked, holding the quill out to him. Char nodded vehemently. I handed it over to him after he had stopped shrieking and used his manners instead. Char dropped to his hands and knees and began tracing the patterns of the burgundy paisley carpet with the feather tip. Sighing, I raised my wand again, intending to restack the files Char had sent tumbling to the ground but pausing when a name staring up at me from the floor caught my attention.
Selwyn, Claudius.
After pausing to listen for any noise from the hall, I knelt down on the carpet beside the folder bearing Selwyn's name. With the tips of two fingers, I further extracted the topmost sheet of parchment that had fallen halfway out when it hit the floor. From the heading alone, I could tell instantly it was a marriage licence, having a similarly formatted document locked with other personal papers in my safe at Hogwarts for my marriage to Avrille. However, I noted with slight interest that the raised seal on a bottom corner indicated this was the original record for Selwyn, not an official copy like the one I possessed. This piece of paper should have been filed away safely at the Ministry instead of floating around Julius's office.
I read through the text of the licence quickly. According to the document, Selwyn had married an Anneliese Dresdner four years ago, Miss Dresdner being listed as nearly thirty years his junior and the daughter of a shopkeeper and a librarian from Berlin. An abbreviation denoting blood-status followed all listed names. It was always optional for any Ministry document, but most people chose to list their blood-status when it was asked. This helped those who worked in the genealogy subdivision of the Department of Wizarding Records and Magical Documents to track magical lineages more easily. Selwyn and Miss Dresdner appeared to harbour no qualms about making their families' blood-status known. Following the names of the bride, groom, and their parents, the initials "PB" were written, indicating pure-blood ancestry.
Though at first glance the licence appeared in order, my long history of studying "alternative" forms of magic gave me the sense there was something else to this seemingly unassuming piece of paper. After checking Char was still mesmerised with his quill, I raised my wand again and waved it once over the text. Nothing happened. Focusing on a different counter-enchantment, I tried again. Still nothing. Perhaps this would have convinced almost any other wizard that he had been imaging things. For me it merely served to increase my certainty that the licence had been meddled with somehow, and whatever had been done to it, it had been done very well. I closed my eyes and passed several fingertips over the parchment while muttering an even stronger incantation. Blocking out visuals gave me more of a feel for the spell, and when I opened my eyes after tapping the licence one final time, I saw immediately that it was altered.
It still listed the same wedding date and all of the same names. However, no notation of blood-status now followed the names of Mr and Mrs Dresdner. This implied that they had either never consented to have their blood-status known or, more likely, were in fact Muggles. The latter proved to be true when I noted the abbreviation "MB" after Anneliese Dresdner. It appeared Selwyn had gone to great lengths to conceal his young new wife was Muggle-born, or a filthy Mudblood in his fellow Death Eaters' eyes.
The sound of heavy footsteps and muffled voices in the hall alerted me I had only seconds to remedy the mess Char had made to avoid being caught snooping. I quickly flicked my wand to restore the licence's enchantment and to send all of the papers to their correct folders, glad to see Char was still happily occupied lying on the carpet with his quill. I stood and dropped the files back on the desk, taking a step backwards and facing the door with my wand stowed and my hands clasped behind my back just as it opened.
Julius passed through, his comfortably-fed physique draped in a set of aubergine, Italian business robes that trailed slightly as he walked. He was followed a step behind by none other than Claudius Selwyn himself. When he saw me, Selwyn started a bit but immediately attempted to hide the motion of his discomposure by shrugging his shoulders to adjust his cloak.
"Ah! Severus! I didn't realise you'd arrived already for our appointment," Julius said genially.
"Forgive me, I know I'm slightly early. Your secretary showed me in," I replied.
"Cecily," Julius sighed heavily in good-natured exasperation as he passed a hand over his bald pate and down through his wreath of white curls. "She's new and still settling in. We've been attempting for days to track down where exactly that silly girl sent half of Barnes's files when she vanished them last week for him. No matter. I can be with you in a moment, Severus. I was just finishing things up with Claudius here. You two know each other, I believe?"
I made to politely deny it, since I had never met him outside of a Death Eater capacity, but Selwyn pre-empted me by replying gruffly, "Yes, slightly. My brother-in-law used to work alongside his father."
I blinked and closed my mouth. It was news to me that we shared any connection beyond that of "service" to the Dark Lord.
"Of course, of course, that's right: Snape, Vholes and Voltore. It was unfortunate when their firm dissolved, though I will guiltily admit I appreciated the flow of business it sent my way," Julius said with an apologetic grin as he rubbed at a spot on his spectacles with a silk handkerchief. "Oh, I say! You've brought your son! What a handsome little chap." Char had managed to crawl under the desk while I wasn't looking and was peeking out at us on his hands and knees.
"I apologise. My wife an appointment of her own this afternoon. Char, come out of there," I said sternly. Julius waved the apology away with a flourish of his handkerchief before stowing it in a waistcoat pocket. He replaced his glasses on the tip of his nose and gestured for Char to remain where he was.
"No reason to trouble yourself. I have sixteen great-grandchildren, one of them a boy about his age, and they are constantly using my furniture as gymnasium equipment. Chasing them about has helped keep me young. Now," he said, turning to Selwyn, "I'll be right back with those copies for you. Feel free to take a seat, Severus. I won't be but a moment." Julius left the room, closing the door behind him once more. I wondered if the copies he referred to were duplicates of Selwyn's doctored documents. Seemingly confirming it unintentionally, Selwyn's focus darted to the pile of folders while the rest of him remained oddly still as though any sudden movement would draw my attention even more to what he was hoping to keep hidden. There was a glint of nervousness in his eyes as he directed them back to me. I realised, having not noted the exact location of the files on the desk before Char disrupted them, it was entirely possible Selwyn could tell they'd been moved. It had been slightly foolish of me not to assume that a man apparently as intent on hiding secrets from the Dark Lord as I was would not also be operating under the same heightened level of assiduity.
However, guessing Selwyn suspected me of prying into his personal affairs did not make me feel dishonourable as it would have with almost anyone else. On the contrary, I was filled with a sudden feeling of power. I knew he was one of the foremost Death Eaters who still suspected my loyalties to the Dark Lord. If he believed I knew the secret of his wife's Muggle parentage, he would be much less likely to give me any problems in the future. If he ever challenged me directly, I was not above using blackmail to ensure my own family remained safe.
I ignored Julius's direction to take a seat and remained standing where I was to keep Selwyn in full view. He broke off studying me and cleared his throat.
"You do have a very good-looking son there," he finally commented.
"Thank you," I replied guardedly. "I tell everyone he takes after his mother in that respect." Selwyn smiled a bit at my dry self-deprecation and folded his hands behind his own back, perhaps unconsciously falling into the same pose we usually shared when presenting ourselves before the Dark Lord. The stance made his broad chest stand out from his own well-cut business robes. He seemed in remarkably good shape for a man of sixty, according to the marriage licence. Perhaps having such a young wife has revitalised him.
As though knowing my thoughts, which was of course impossible due to my ceaseless employment of Occlumency, he remarked, "My wife and I are expecting a child of our own this spring."
"Congratulations." I inclined my head to him slightly. Revitalised indeed. I wondered if he was merely engaging in small talk or trying to ascertain delicately if I had in fact read through his file. I decided making him sweat a little couldn't hurt my own cause.
"You have not been married long, I believe," I added, knowing this information could have easily come from another source like the papers. My polite inquiry had the intended effect. Selwyn's cheeks coloured slightly, a decidedly unexpected response from a man simply trying to pass the time. He quickly recovered.
"Yes, just a few years." He did not elaborate, and I did not press my advantage further. His suspicion that I knew his secret was enough for now.
Though I truly did not desire to continue the conversation, I knew it would be awkward if Julius returned to an uncomfortable silence between us after Selwyn had named us acquaintances. Therefore I remarked, "I was not aware you knew my father." I suppose this shouldn't have surprised me, Selwyn being nearly the same age as he would have been were he alive today. Also, though my father had never committed to becoming a Death Eater himself, he had fostered many associations with them through his business and his personal life.
Selwyn appeared relieved I was changing the topic. "Yes, my eldest sister is married to Lycurgus Voltore. I met your father on several occasions in the past at their annual Christmas parties. Your mother as well. She was a very fine lady." I noticed he did not bother to extend the compliment to my father. I wondered if he knew how often that fine lady had been forced to choose her party clothes with the utmost care to ensure the bruises she hadn't been able to heal herself remained hidden. Selwyn discomforted me with the look of odd sympathy his face had fallen into. Perhaps rumours of my parents' stormy marriage had spread further than I had guessed when I was younger. After all, there were few pure-blood families and many opportunities for idle gossip between them.
"I'm surprised you don't bring your business to your own brother-in-law," I asked with a raised eyebrow to steer the conversation back into territory less uncomfortable for me, even though I knew perfectly well sometimes it was best to outsource personal secrets to an independent party. Family did not always have your best interests at heart.
My comment did not seem to ruffle Selwyn. On the contrary, he continued to unnerve me by stating, "I, however, am not at all surprised you don't patronise your own father's old partners."
"And why is that?"
"I know there was bad blood between the three of them at the end, with your father's… illness," Selwyn remarked tactfully. Now I was certain he knew at least a little of what my father had always tried to keep quiet. He was referring to the fact that my father, finally succumbing to his alcohol addiction, had allowed his share of the business to be bought out by his partners after my mother's premature death. Knowing he was not long for the world, he had chosen to spend it wallowing in a cesspool of drink instead of going to work. But at the very least a small portion of the buy-out money remained after his death, surprisingly well-invested and therefore unable to be drunk away. The investment allowed me to pay off the remainder of my outstanding educational fees when it matured.
I was growing tired of this guarded banter and was relieved when Julius returned a moment later. The solicitor handed a thin folder to Selwyn, which he immediately vanished, most likely to a safe of his own somewhere. With a curt good afternoon and a nod of his head to the two of us, Selwyn took his leave. I hoped our paths would not cross again for quite some time. Even though I should have been holding the whip hand over him due to my unintentional discovery of his wife's parentage, I had been left feeling very uneasy. I had expected more anger or fear from him, not veiled compassion.
"Have a seat, Severus," Julius said as he took his own behind his desk. He did not look twice at the folders I had replaced. I was somewhat relieved. While I could not care less if Selwyn guessed I had been digging into his personal affairs, I would be dismayed if my long professional relationship with Julius suffered because of it.
"You were intentionally vague in our correspondence last week, I think," Julius said after I was settled in front of him and we had exchanged the compulsory greetings. Compulsory yet brief. I didn't pay Julius thirty Galleons an hour to discuss the weather. I moved Char out from under the desk to make room for Julius's legs, setting him on my lap instead. I gave him my wand to hold, knowing it was the only thing that would guarantee his complete distraction during the appointment. Hopefully he would not babble about the normally prohibited treat to his mother later.
"You're correct. The current political climate both in London and at Hogwarts at the moment has made me more cautious than usual about what I put in writing."
"Understandable, understandable." Julius, being my solicitor for fifteen years now, knew about my personal history perhaps even more completely than Avrille did. After all, he had been the one to prepare a defence for me in secret after the Dark Lord's first downfall in the event I was arrested for my Death Eater activities. Fortunately Professor Dumbledore's vote of confidence had spared me the nuisance of a trial and protected my public image, but still to this day I appreciated how Julius had only asked the bare minimum of questions to draft an expert defence. He guessed rightly there were many things I had observed and been forced to participate in during my time as a double agent that I did not want to ever discuss unless my freedom depended on it.
"I made this appointment today because I would like to revise my will," I said.
Julius nodded as he unrolled a fresh scroll of yellow legal parchment and drew his quill from the well. "I thought it might be that. I don't think we ever updated it after your marriage, did we?"
"No, we did not. I want to ensure that should anything happen to me, my wife will encounter no interference from the Ministry in receiving what is due to her and our son by law, especially if the circumstances surrounding my death are… not entirely honourable at first glance."
Julius raised his eyebrows slightly as he scratched out a line of notes in green ink but did not voice any surprise. I didn't think it at all unlikely that Selwyn had also requested the same thing during his own appointment. I knew Julius probably disagreed with the Ministry's current stance on the Dark Lord's return. Julius tried to disagree with the Ministry whenever he could on principle.
"I can pull your will, and we can make the necessary changes today, if you wish. Was that all you needed?" Julius asked when he had finished writing.
"No, there is something else." I paused, my arms wrapped around my son, holding tight to his tiny body so full of life and energy. Even sitting on my lap, Chars legs bounced back and forth as he passed my cherry wand from hand to hand.
"I wish to take out a life insurance policy."
Again Julius's brow wrinkled in surprise, though he was meeting my eyes now with his almost boyishly blue ones. He did not ask the question I knew had risen within him, why this, why now, perhaps putting all the clues together himself following a meeting with a true Death Eater. Instead he asked simply and with a touch of sadness in his voice, "For how much?"
"For as much as I can afford."