"Ms. Evans, what did you think of our speaker?" Lucius Malfoy appeared out of the crowd as if called by Magic herself. Lily gave him a thin smile and grasped Severus's arm more tightly.

"He was compelling," She finally replied. That seemed a safe answer. Mr. Riddle was nothing if not a gifted and gripping speaker. His voice was warm and cultured with the faint hint of an accent picked up, according to Severus, in his post-Hogwarts travels around the world. Even in front of the packed room, Riddle stood with the easy confidence of one who knew he would be welcomed where ever he went, no matter his blood status. Even in the last minute questioning, he had remained confident and relaxed. Lily was almost jealous.

"It does my heart good to hear you say that, Ms. Evans." Lucius's pale face lifted with a momentary smile. "Considering he has extended an invitation to you to attend our post-Salon gathering."

"What!" Severus's sharp voice cut into the conversation, but Lucius continued as though he hadn't heard.

"It's an intimate affair. A chance for a small group of devotees to gather and discuss ideas slightly more intriguing than normal discourse allows. We would be honored if you would join us."

"Lucius- this is enough. She's attended the salon. Shes-"

"Severus," Lucius silenced Severus's ragged protests with the near whisper of his name. The two boys stared at each other in silent argument, but finally Lucius's will won out and Severus dropped his eyes. His thin shoulders slumped and his cheeks seemed thinner than normal.

"As you say, Lord Malfoy," He muttered, "Just please- can you ensure the laws of Hospitality will extend to us?"

"Of course, Severus, who do you think I am?" The blond boy gave him an amused glance. When Severus didn't answer, Lucius sighed and turned towards her with an air of long suffering patience.

"Ms. Evans, I invite you into the Nott Keep under the Law of Hospitality- while under my friend's roof no harm will befall you or action be taken against you on risk of my magic." Malfoy gave her a mocking little bow at the end of his speech. At Lily's side, Severus relaxed slightly so whatever Malfoy had said was apparently good.

"Thank you." She finally said, "That's very kind of you."

"Indeed," With a final ironic smile, Malfoy turned away from her and back to Severus, "If you are satisfied Mr. Snape, will you be so kind as to transport yourselves to the Nott Keep?"

With a swirl of his cloak, Malfoy disappeared with a pop. A second later the two of them followed.

0X0X0X0X0

In days long past, castles served not an aesthetic purpose but a defensive one. When raiding armies approached, the entire village would retreat between the castle walls to wait out whatever marauding forces set on destroying them. Of course, Muggles only had to defend against other muggles and their early technologies.

Nott Keep looked like it had been built to withstand dragon fire.

Lily gazed up at the hulking hunk of stone that lurked menacingly on the top of the hill. The home looked old. It looked strong. It looked like the last place you would want to live or visit unless you were being pursued by a goblin army or troll.

Around them various other figures popped into existence and began heading up the hill. Severus sighed and offered her his arm.

"The Notts have old wards that prevent apparating any closer." He explained as they began hiking up the steep incline, "Good in a battle, bad for a social visit." Soon their breath was reserved for the climb and Lily was bitterly regretting the delicate shoes she had worn to make a good impression. Hopefully the Hogwarts Elves knew how to get mud stains out of silk.

0X0X0X0

At least, Lily thought in her most sincere effort to see the best of this situation, the Nott's were consistent. The interior of the Keep matched the exterior in every way: sparse, militaristic, and wholly devoid of any home like atmosphere. Ancient weapons hung on the walls between tapestries depicting slow moving battles with entirely more blood than Lily was comfortable with. Their footsteps echoed down the stone hallways and Lily swore she could almost see her breath.

Severus seemed to have been here before because he led them down identical hallway after hallway that soon had Lily completely lost.

"It's to confuse invaders," Severus explained when the paused at another branching hallway. "The early Nott's cast some serious enchantments on the outer rooms. If you don't know how to follow the signs, you'll end up wandering in circles and be easy to pick off. Don't go wander off, understand?"

Lily nodded in agreement and pulled her cloak around her shoulders more closely.

Finally, they turned the corner into a large room that looked, for the first time, like it was a livable area. A fire roared in a hearth large enough for Lily to walk into without bending her head. Heavy furniture sat above enormous rugs that must have once been magnificent but were now faded and worn. The tapestries on the walls no longer depicted the worst of the battles, but of brave wizards and witches returning to their castles with the heads, hearts or wands of their enemies.

Bloody was a relative term, Lily decided as she glanced hastily away from the tapestry where an older witch presented the head of a troll to a blush wizard under a lemon tree.

A handful of wizards and witches had gathered in the room. Some she recognized from the Salon, others from her classes. Lucius was sitting on couch listening to a dark haired witch with slightly protruding eyes describe something that required many hand gestures.

"HA!" a harsh voice broke through the quiet murmurs of the room and an older wizard turned from a complicated geometrical tapestry next to the fire showing multiple moving figures. "Mulcibar and Crouch took a wrong turn. The fools- it will take them an hour to find their way back."

"Nott, when is He arriving?" Bellatrix turned away from her consideration of the tapestries and glared at the older man who was still chuckling over the misfortune of the other wizards. Lily felt a shiver of empathy for the two who were stuck wandering those frigid corridors for another hour.

"Sent Cassandra to pick him up," The man glanced at the tapestry again. It was clearly some complicated map of the interior of the keep. "They should be here soon."

As if summoned by the words, another door flew open and Tom Riddle entered, followed by a thin, young witch with brown hair and a pinched, weedy expression. As one, every witch and wizard in the room rose to their feet and bowed at his entrance. Riddle acknowledged them with a raise of his hand and began to circle the room, greeting each by name and making small conversation.

At the Salon, Lily had been tucked in the far back corner and had been shielded from the man's presence by the press of bodies in front of her. Now, being so close, she was struck once again by the serpentine grace of his movements, the charisma of his presence. Every eye on the room was drawn to him even in this more casual setting. Was it a spell? Some trait hidden in his blood line? Or just a natural magnetism?

Any discomfort or anger from the previous hour seemed washed away. When he smiled upon this group of people, he no longer looked quite so gentle or open. There was something sharp and fierce in his gaze as he glanced around the group. The confidence from his assumed welcome had transformed into the assumption of power.

He strode to the front of the room and stood before the enormous fireplace for a moment, hands clasped behind his back as he gazed into the inferno before him. A brief bated moment passed, before he began to speak.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading! Let me know what you think of the story so far!