Cursed
SS/LE, AU, Marauder Era
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 25: A pair bigger than Godric's
Although Sirius Black laughed like a madman while sentenced to two years in Azkaban, no one, not even Dumbledore's friends and allies, found it amusing when the headmaster decided to escape by using his phoenix familiar to aid his swift exit from the Ministry.
James' outrage over Remus getting sentenced to five years, especially since he was unfairly shipped to Azkaban without the trial even taking place yet, was quickly overshadowed when he also got five in Azkaban. They couldn't do that! All Snape got was a couple scratches thanks to James saving his worthless life.
Peter sat quietly with his parents as the lengthy court protocols were followed leading to each person involved getting time in Azkaban, including Remus' parents getting one month each. When Prof. Dumbledore made his flashy exit, he was sad that the headmaster did nothing to help them but only saved himself. As it turned out, Peter only received a one month sentence for Azkaban, but his parents bemoaned that he would not be able to get a job with the Ministry due to his criminal record. He never wanted to work for the Ministry, but they rarely listened to his idea of living with James, like Sirius did. The Potters didn't work. The Blacks didn't work. Why should he?
Minerva stood next to Severus with her hand on his shoulder. He had not been formally dismissed. The veritaserum should have worn off, but he was sitting as still now as he had earlier.
Things were bad. Severus frequently felt he had been born only to suffer. Each month brought something new to poke him into thinking things had not been so bad earlier. Why was he here at the Wizengamot to answer Dumbledore's questions designed to portray his mother as an unloved whore? Even his old man, for all his shouting and raging about everything he hated, sometimes admitted during that brief moment of happy drunkenness prior to his descent into the depths that he was fond of mother. Tobias may have only said that so she did not let him choke on his own vomit later, but Severus was aware there was some warm feeling between them, besides the yelling, screaming and crying.
In addition to the normal problems at Hogwarts, including unguarded werewolves, there was the accusation that Dumbledore had murdered his parents. Severus had stayed quiet about his injury so there was no need to involve them in any of the old manipulator's schemes. If he was to plan their demise, killing neighboring muggles would confuse things, but was wasteful. None of them deserved to die, unless someone condemned them due to the shabby location of their residences. Considering Dumbledore could kill his parents based on some whim of his, Severus guessed he would not mind murdering muggles too.
It had not been proven that Dumbledore did kill them. However, it was repeated that Sirius Black confessed the headmaster's plan to kill them. Black also claimed that the Blacks and Potters were on Dumbledore's list of people to kill. Considering the outrageous lies Black could tell, Severus would not take that as the only proof that Dumbledore spent his spare time engaged in murder. However, if Dumbledore did, it was easy to surmise that he used the current problems with He Who Must Not Be Named to hide his crimes. So many people were murdered by the houseful, that a few other families would not be unusual. If Dumbledore was as great as everyone claimed, why wasn't he doing something about He Who Must Not Be Named rather than encouraging Gryffindor attacks at Hogwarts?
He could think like a Gryffindor some of the time with regards to their sense of entitlement and feeling that laws and rules were for lesser beings, but when they actually needed to think was a problem. Not impulsive things such as 'I'm bored, let's see what happens when I …', but a true scheme.
Severus was only surprised that Dumbledore did not take Potter, Black and Pettigrew with him when he made his dramatic exit. As if Albus Dumbledore would stand around and allow his Godric-endowed privileges to be curtailed. He defeated Grindelwald, the Scourge of Europe, thirty years ago so Dumbledore felt he was above the law now as he was then. Probably before he even fought that duel too, considering how he encouraged Black and Potter to emulate his behavior.
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Prof. McGonagall was quickly raised to the position of Headmistress of Hogwarts by the Board. Although she was as much a Gryffindor as Albus Dumbledore, she was not that sort of Gryffindor. After considering her options, Minerva chose Filius as her deputy headmaster. Horace had more years at Hogwarts, but his neglect of most of Slytherin house, including Severus, made him unsuitable, especially with the amount of work needed from the deputy. Hufflepuffs needed a lot of hand-holding so that is why Minerva had not given serious thought to Pomona being her deputy.
Now that she officially had the title of headmistress, Minerva needed to decide who would be the next head of Gryffindor. Out of the staff, on paper she was fortunate to have three who attended Hogwarts and sorted into Gryffindor: Rubeus Hagrid, Silvanus Kettleburn, and this year's doomed Defense instructor. None of them was truly qualified for the position, however out of the three of them, she would normally pick the newest member to the staff, except giving him the position as head of Gryffindor could trigger the curse on the Defense position and end with the students injuring or killing him. Silvanus was more accustomed to life-threatening situations, however neither Silvanus or Hagrid exerted a strong hand with the students.
She did not move immediately to the head's quarters, which did have room for Severus too, because her charge was not well after his appearance in court. If he did not snap out of his funk soon, Minerva was tempted to allow Poppy giving him mood-elevating potions. Severus had not even left his room to know how much information had gotten into Hogwarts nor to hear the jibes or reassurances of his peers.
Minerva could tell Severus was worse than before since she caught him lying about in his undergarments twice. Even at night, Severus had been fully dressed when she had checked on him. There was also the unwashed stink of male teenager that was only getting riper as time progressed. She had been hoping his own disgust would kick in to make him take care of that.
She contemplated what Albus had been up to with his stunt at the Wizengamot while she packed his things, not caring if something broke in the process. It was more satisfying than asking an army of house elves to pack his things for storage. Technically, Albus was now a criminal and was sentenced to ten years in Azkaban, due to the Wizengamot's attitude that he dared to leave prior to hearing what they decided. They also reserved the right to add more time, depending if Albus turned himself in or not.
If Albus truly meant the direction of his questioning, it would have no effect on the trial nor Severus, if Severus was the unfeeling creature that Albus asserted. However, Minerva knew better and had tried to tell Albus that Severus was not like that. Albus had responded that it was merely an act, so if he truly believed that, why the show for the Wizengamot? Was Albus really so petty to use the excuse of the trial to attack Severus directly, rather than using his favorite students?
She had almost forgotten about Miss Evans when the student approached her about an idea for her animagus lesson.
"Professor, I was doing some further reading, and it was suggested by one author that an animagus form almost always matches the form of someone's patronus."
"Not always, Miss Evans. If it is something different, it usually condemns the person to never find their animagus form."
Undeterred, Lily continued, "But that's rare, so it could save a lot of time."
"Miss Evans, at the moment, I doubt Mr. Snape could learn the patronus charm. Additionally, I do not like you second guessing my methods."
"I'm not second guessing you, professor. I'm only suggesting an aid to finding my form. If Severus cannot learn the charm, there's no reason why I can't. I read up on it ..."
"Miss Evans, don't try my patience."
"I realize that the sudden turn of events with Prof. ..."
"Don't assume to know anything, young lady. My disappointment with Gryffindor may have been initially limited to four selfish individuals, but is quickly spreading."
"What do you mean, Professor?"
"Your inhospitable request to Severus."
Lily knew what inhospitable meant, but it was for Sev's own good. Annoyed that Sev snitched on her to Prof. McGonagall, she explained, "Professor, you know those boys in Slytherin are no good. Just look at the evil things they do to other students. It's better if Severus has nothing to do with them."
"When did you ask Severus to no longer have any association with his fellow Slytherin students?" Minerva asked. Was that why Severus was no longer coming out of his room? When he said he loved Lily Evans under the influence of veritaserum, Minerva had no idea that Miss Evans was actually responding to his feelings, other than telling him to get out of her house or her life. That Minerva could almost understand since Miss Evans was a lovely, popular student, usually known for her kindness, and may have chosen an entirely inappropriate moment to spurn Severus. However, if she was using Severus' feelings to dictate how he lived his life, and did not allow him to associate with students from his own house while she dangled the hope of her friendship or perhaps something more in front of him, that was wrong.
"Back in June. He obviously did not listen to me."
"Was it some ultimatum, Miss Evans? Conversely, did Severus ask you to stop talking to Gryffindors?"
"What? Why would I stop talking to my friends? They're good people, professor, not like Mulciber and Avery. Wilkes and Rosier are not so nice either. Even the younger students like Black and Crouch are nuisances. I've caught them ..."
Minerva raised her hand, "I am not here to listen to your complaints about the whole of Slytherin house, Miss Evans. Perhaps you can make an appointment with Prof. Slughorn to discuss your ideas. In the meanwhile, I'd prefer if you left Severus alone with dictating who he can and cannot speak to. You have been a pretty poor friend to him for asking him to leave your house, without any concern about where he would end up."
"What? Why'd he tell you that?"
"Severus was dosed with veritaserum for Prof. Dumbledore to question him. Every question was irrelevant to the actual trial, but Severus was asked why he accepted my offer to become my ward. He stated he had nowhere else to go because you told him to get out of your house."
"Not immediately."
"He may have assumed the worst since you seem to prefer to dictate terms to him, rather than having a normal discussion. Your lack of patience with him may have led to him getting mauled by Lupin."
"What?"
"Severus was under the impression you were in danger, based on what he overheard from Black. Did he try to discuss you going on a date with James Potter?"
Lily made a noise and commented, "Sev kept saying things like that. Like Potter fancied me and to be careful, but it's none of his business who I talk to or date."
"Even so, you instructed Severus on who he may associate with?"
"No."
"He may associate with any other student besides one in his house than?"
"Professor, I know Sev's upset, but he's twisting my words."
"You were the one that confessed you asked Severus not to associate with anyone in Slytherin back in June."
"I know he has to eat and go to class with them and things. And it's not wise to ignore those kind of people."
"Somehow I think Severus being aloof to Slytherins is a bit much to ask, Miss Evans. What had he responded when you asked him to do this for you?"
"It's not for me. It's the right thing to do, professor."
"Did Severus ever ask you never to speak to Potter and Black?"
"That's different," Lily huffed. "He thought they fancied me."
"Given that I know what Severus' answer was to a very personal question from Prof. Dumbledore, I am not surprised."
"What he say?"
"I think it's time for me to state the terms, Miss Evans, rather than repeating fodder for the gossip mongers. I am suspending the animagus lessons till the new year. Severus is not well at the moment. I would also appreciate it if you can keep any of your discourse with him civil once he returns to class. It is hardly his fault that the headmaster insisted on veritaserum and then took advantage to ask inane questions, rather than taking the trial seriously. Only Mr. Pettigrew behaved properly, although I suspect he tried to make himself look better by not admitting he knew anything until after it occurred."
"I read about it in the paper."
"I think Albus Dumbledore is going to be in the paper every day until he's caught."
"They can't, professor. Without Prof. Dumbledore, nobody will stop He Who Must Not Be Named."
"How has Albus Dumbledore stopped him to date?"
"I'm sure he's working on it."
"He better be, because if he's not, he'll have to answer to me," Minerva replied, referring to Albus' machinations towards Severus.
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Severus had missed a couple of days of classes and now the professor was canceling their animagus lessons for a month. What had he told Prof. McGonagall that could have made her so cross with Lily? Lily was a Gryffindor prefect, and frankly, never did anything wrong. She had not even lost a point in over two years for Gryffindor and never had a detention at Hogwarts.
Lily was not sure if Severus was well or not, even though that's what Prof. McGonagall claimed. He should be happy that the trial went the way it did, even if Dumbledore was a jerk and had Sev take veritaserum to answer his stupid questions in front of everyone there. What did he make him say? Did Dumbledore phrase his questions to get Lily in trouble too? She had to find out more of what actually got asked and said than was printed in The Daily Prophet.
Perhaps it was a mistake to inquire from Mary MacDonald what she knew. The only person who knew more gossip was Bertha Jorkins, but Bertha was not a Gryffindor and if Bertha knew something, she wasted no time in making sure as many people as possible were informed.
Mary's view sounded like a bedlamite had whispered it to her in a bad dream following the house elves declaring Curry Takeaway Night. From what Mary heard, Snape's mother was an insatiable witch who were drawn to muggles because they had bigger things. Of course, Lily had to stop her there because that was the most ridiculous thing she ever heard. Mrs. Snape, from the little Lily had seen of her or even heard from Severus, was not some loose woman. To which Mary admitted perhaps Snape's father had enough 'meat' to keep her happy, and then overrode Lily's objection by pointing out that Mary had seen Snape in June after the Marauders debagged him and even hanging upside down, he was hung like a muggle. Lily had not stayed to see that. She had only seen Sev's briefs and had not looked that closely at them to try to discern what they hid. Lily protested on multiple levels as to why any of this conversation was improper and was rather insulted that any man that was blessed with any sort of endowment down there was said to be 'hung like a muggle'.
Mary explained to Lily that 'hung like a muggle' was similar to saying 'hung like an animal'. There was also the phrase 'hung like a hippogriff', but that was even bigger. Since Mary did not get a good look at Snape's thing because Potter dropped him before she could see it properly and right side up, she could not say whether he was of hippogriff proportions, but if he wasn't, he might get bigger since he was still not full-grown.
Since Lily could only sputter and turn red at that, Mary assured her that it was alright if someone like Lily was interested in that since she was muggleborn and might have urges for an indecent amount of sexual activity. Pureblood wizards were decently sized and did not expect their pureblood wives to suffer from urges in excess of creating children and special occasions like wedding anniversaries.
Mary returned to the original topic that because Snape's mother was a witch, she must have been depraved to do it with muggles. That's why Dumbledore brought it up and questioned if Snape's mother would do it with one muggle, than it was likely she was shagging other muggles and probably had no idea who Snape's father really was. Not that she should care because once she wasn't pregnant any more, she could return to having all that barnyard style sex with muggles.
Although it was insanity and Lily was naturally angry that Dumbledore would even question someone's dead mother's private activities, especially since she did not see why that should excuse setting a werewolf on Severus, trying to kill him in St. Mungo's, or portkeying him to South Africa, she was also upset that Mary and maybe others were repeating this nonsense. Is this really the way wizards and witches thought about personal matters? Besides, how did decent people even know these sort of things before their wedding night?
Last summer, one of Tuney's friends, who had that kind of reputation, so wasn't a close friend, was telling jokes or something about boys' things, and as far as Lily could tell from what she overheard, she would do something to her date in advance to find out how big he was, before deciding to 'go park'.
Seeing that her friend was confused, Mary quickly dug through her things to set her straight about the quaffle and the hoop. She held up a good-sized ink eraser and stated, "Normally, a wizard's cock should not be any bigger than this. Like a large, fat flobberworm."
Lily's mouth dropped open. Mary said that word. She had to be wrong. Lily was no expert on the size of such things, but the eraser Mary was holding was barely as large as her middle finger. Lily had changed a couple diapers while helping Tuney babysit and some of them were not that size but close enough. Of course, Lily would never innocently look at a flobberworm again.
"So if a wizard's got something the size of a banger, it's said he's hung like a muggle. You might need something like that since you're muggle sized and a wizard would hardly fill it and his cock would just fall out."
"What do you mean I'm muggle sized?"
"You know," Mary insisted with a downward point at Lily's lap. "Where the wizard puts it in you."
"That's stupid," Lily replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "How does a baby get out of a witch if it doesn't fit through there?"
Mary huffed, "You don't know much do you? It can, but usually that only works for someone with a lot of muggle blood in them, so almost all witches make an appointment with St. Mungo's to have the baby safely removed when the time is right. That even gives the family a choice of birth days, in case one's better than another."
Lily was sure Mary was having her on. This was one of the stupidest things she had ever heard. Making a hospital appointment to pick a baby's birthday. It figured that Mary would use something like that as a reason, since she took Divination.
It was hurtful that even while playing such a joke on Lily's unwillingness to discuss more than dating and hand holding that someone she considered her friend would pick on her for being muggleborn. With Mary being a Gryffindor, it was not as surprising that she'd make up such nonsense about Sev's mother, but highly inappropriate.
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Lord Voldemort had much to consider. He could not underestimate his enemies, and it would be too simple to consider that Dumbledore had lost his mind by declaring war on at least a fourth of the wizards and witches of Great Britain. This involved more than only Gryffindor and Slytherin, since others were tired of the decades of Gryffindor favoritism, culminating in their leader deciding he was too important to serve time in Azkaban, or perhaps that he was not judged by wizards and witches that he considered to be his peers? Or was that only what Dumbledore wanted people to think?
As a student, Voldemort realized that Dumbledore was hardly chained to Hogwarts, even as the transfiguration instructor. As headmaster, he could come and go as he liked, while using the heavily warded school as a private fortress. It was ludicrous to think that the wizard intentionally gave it up. Yes, it was obviously all a ruse.
The transcript was also full of nonsense. He already knew Orion took care of what his son, Sirius, had to say. James Potter was as idiotic and fat-headed as his Gryffindor father, a former head boy, and recalled with amazing clarity by Voldemort. He had been five years behind that spectacled, grinning, quidditch player. The funniest thing about little James is Lord Voldemort did not do anything. The self-righteous idiot got himself sent to Azkaban with help from Saint Albus.
It was difficult to read between the lines on what Dumbledore was doing with that last witness. Voldemort already knew that name and who Severus Snape was. A half-blood Slytherin in the same year as Avery's boy. In reality, Voldemort had no feelings regarding whatever Eileen Prince did with herself once he was done with her. However, the insinuation that she craved the depravity of muggles was a bit of a stroke to his male pride that after that one time, Prince spent years trying to find something to compare to him. It was a bit sad really that she lost her virginity with the best shag of her life and slowly turned into a immoral witch spending her final years grunting beneath animals.