Part 28 – The Skull and the Snake
Later that night Severus was curled up on his bed in the only position he could find where no part of his body hurt. His parents remained downstairs for several hours before he heard the sound of the creaking stairs. The footsteps came closer to his door and he started to shake when he heard the door handle squeak as someone made to come into his room.
"Leave him be Eileen," he heard his father call.
"But…"
"He won't learn a thing if you go in there with your healing potions. The boy's got to learn his place."
"What about…?"
"You. Leave. Him. Be."
Severus listened as his mother moved away from the door. He wondered whether he could risk sneaking out to the potions cabinet after his father went to bed but soon decided against it. It was doubtful his father would be sleeping and he had to pass his parents' room to get to the bathroom where the potions were kept. Shifting slightly he tried to get comfortable but it was no use and he knew he would not be sleeping that night.
During the following days Severus was relieved to find that his father was rarely home. "Out on a bit of business" was all he would say when Eileen asked him where he was going. Severus didn't bother to ask. He didn't care where he was going so long as he wasn't in the house.
He'd have gone round to see Lily again but with his bruises so obviously visible his mother was keeping a closer eye on him than usual. He knew that he'd not be allowed 'out to play' until the bruises had faded.
New Year's Eve came around all too soon. Severus woke on the morning of the party with a feeling of dread. He felt that something big was going to happen at the Black household and he couldn't shake the growing feeling of foreboding that had descended on him as soon as he'd heard he was going to Sirius's house for New Year.
He was hiding out in his room colouring in one of his sketches a little after seven o'clock when he was summoned downstairs to leave by his mother. His father had arranged to see them off and then meet them there later, there was another 'bit of business' he had to deal with first. He explained that the person he'd be meeting shortly was a wizard who would ensure he got to London. He didn't say who it was, and neither Severus nor his mother asked.
"Severus!" called his mother. "Hurry up! We're leaving now."
Severus looked at his half-finished drawing of the view from his small window. Tucking the rolls of parchment into his robes together with his new pencils he hoped he would find somewhere away from the main throng at the party where he could finish the picture. He had no inclination to socialise with Sirius, and after Lucius's comments about Lily on Christmas Day he wasn't looking forward to seeing him again either.
Severus arrived in the living room just as his mother was flooing over to Grimmauld Place. He moved to follow her but was stopped by his father grabbing hold of his arm. He flinched at the pain of the still unhealed injuries. He hadn't dared take any potions and risk his father thinking his mother had given them to him.
"Don't you be showing me up tonight Severus," he warned.
Severus nodded and grabbed a handful of floo powder. Stepping into the fireplace he was relieved when the dizzying journey began and he could no longer see his father's face.
The Black house was crammed with people when Severus and his mother arrived. The Malfoys were already there and Mr Malfoy came forward to greet them and introduce them to his closest friends. He was surprised to see that several of the guests already knew his mother, though he couldn't recall them ever visiting Spinners End.
Severus was relieved to see that Lucius was busy dancing with Narcissa Black and hadn't even noticed his arrival.
Once they had done their obligatory tour of the house and met their hosts Severus casually moved away from his mother and tried to find somewhere quieter to wait out the party. A decision that was prompted by the arrival of his father.
"Great things, house elves," was the last thing he heard his father saying as Kreacher, the helpful Black family elf served them drinks. "Been looking at investing in one ourselves. Haven't we Eileen?"
Slipping out of the door Severus wondered how long it would be before anyone realised he was missing. Closing the door behind him he noticed the effect of the sound dampening spell on the room immediately as the sounds of laughter and music were silenced.
Looking around the now empty hallway he realised that the house was larger than it had first appeared to him. He wondered if there was a small quiet room somewhere and headed down the hall, checking the doors as he went. Unfortunately most of them were locked.
However he soon realised that whilst most of the guests had flooed over into the kitchen, now most of them had arrived the room was deserted. Sitting down at the large table he sipped the fruit punch Kreacher had forced into his hand fifteen minutes before and pulled out his rolls of parchment.
Within half an hour he had finished the scenic view and pulling out a second sheet of parchment he sat and wondered what to draw next. Idly twirling his pencil around his fingers the sound of the first of the evening's fireworks startled him and the pencil dropped to the floor and rolled into a corner near the larder. Severus watched as it rolled away and under the door.
Getting up from his chair he went over to see if the larder was unlocked. He didn't want to lose one of his Christmas gifts. Reaching for the handle he was relieved when the door swung open. Going into the larder he looked around the small, pokey room for his missing pencil. Seeing it at last he picked it up and turned to go back into the kitchen. He was just closing the larder door when he heard a familiar voice.
"Sirius? You there?"
Cautiously looking around the room, Severus at first couldn't see the speaker. Shifting slightly he then realised that James Potter was speaking through the fire and was waiting for Sirius to give him the all clear to come over. Severus drew back and waited a moment to see if Sirius was near.
"Sirius?" the voice called again. He knew he shouldn't do it. But his holidays had been so bad Severus felt an impulse to inflict some misery on his hated schoolmate whilst he had the chance.
"There's no one here but me," he said as he moved back into the kitchen and into James's line of sight.
"Snivellus? Is that you?" James asked.
"It's Severus," he hissed in response. He watched as James scanned the room as best he could from his vantage point. He then disappeared a moment before flooing through in person.
"There really is no one else here." James sounded surprised.
"No," Severus agreed, a little offended that James thought he'd lied. He didn't let it bother him too much though as he was about to live up to James's expectations.
"Do you know where Sirius is?" James asked as he moved towards the door and peeked out into the hallway.
"Down the hall there," Severus replied. "Last door on the left," he added as he directed James into the main room for the party. He knew that Sirius wasn't in there. He'd been keeping an eye open for him all evening but there had been no sign of him anywhere.
James headed out of the door quietly and Severus followed and stood in the doorway watching as James headed down the hall.
Creeping quietly James had almost reached the door of the party when a hiss came from upstairs.
"James, no!"
Severus turned to look up the stairs and spotted Sirius standing there, waving frantically at his friend. He wondered what sort of a holiday Sirius was having. In the dim light of the hallway he could not tell for sure but he thought he recognised the familiar sight of bruises on his enemy. It seemed that the Black family and the Snape family had a great deal in common when it came to raising their children. He tried to feel some degree of sympathy for Sirius but none was forthcoming as instead he remembered all their altercations at Hogwarts.
James meanwhile was glaring at Severus as he hurried away from the party and upstairs to where Sirius waited. "You'll pay for that!" he promised as he hurried out of sight.
Severus returned the glare with one of his own and turned back into the kitchen. He knew that sooner or later James would be sneaking back through so he gathered his belongings and headed out of the back door to sit on the stoop.
Confident that no one would disturb him there he began to draw. First he drew the scenery around the house and when he had exhausted that he began drawing animals again. He was just completing a realistic rendition of a snake when he heard the door behind him open quietly. "Don't mind me," said a low voice.
Severus turned to look behind him but the speaker was standing in the shadows of the house. All he could make out was a thin face but no real features were visible. He was dressed entirely in black and from the angle that Severus was sat at it looked as though there was merely a skull sitting within a cloak of darkness. A shiver went down his spine and the sense of foreboding deepened.
"Do carry on," the speaker said with a wave of his bony hand.
Turning away Severus searched through the parchments before realising that he had used all of the pieces he had brought with him during the last couple of hours. Looking for one of the least crowded pieces of paper he finally picked out the one of the snake and tapped it idly as he wondered what to draw next. Looking at the paper the only image that was coming into his mind was that of a skull and so he quickly drew that, trying to squeeze it onto the page. Erasing part of the snake did the trick and soon the picture was done. Severus scowled as he looked at it. Although it had not been intentional the drawing he had just finished gave the impression of the snake coming out of the mouth of the skull.
"You have talent," the voice from behind him said. "Can I have that one?"
"What for?" Severus asked. No one but his grandparents had ever asked for one of his pictures before.
"I find it…interesting," said the man as he moved forward. "May I?"
Severus looked at the drawing and realised that he would never want to show that particularly gruesome one to his grandfather. He didn't know who the stranger was but if he wanted his drawing he could have it. Handing it up to the man he watched as a cold smile came over the man's face.
"May I know the name of the artist?" he asked.
"Severus…Severus Snape" he replied in a whisper.
"Thank you Mr Snape. I believe we may well meet again some day. Maybe then you will share some of you other talents with me?"
Severus shrugged but was saved from answering by a voice from inside the house.
"Lord Voldemort. There you are. I have someone here who would very much like to meet you."
Lord Voldemort nodded goodbye to Severus before returning inside the house where Mr Malfoy was awaiting him.
Severus shivered again and wondered if he should risk sneaking home. He decided it wasn't worth it and since he was out of paper he tucked away his parchment and pencils and returned inside to the party too.
His father had not appeared to notice his absence. He stood deep in conversation with Mrs Black where they were debating the problems of raising troublesome boys. He thought he caught a sneer on the face of Sirius's mother every now and then when his father turned away. She didn't seem entirely happy with having Tobias Snape as a guest in her house. He wondered if the Malfoys had known what her reaction would be like when they'd invited the Snapes along and suspected they had.
Severus reflected that at least Mrs Black wasn't throwing his father out of the house and listened idly as she declared how proud she was of her younger son Regulus but seemed to despair of Sirius. Standing quietly he listened as his father classed himself as the same type of troublemaker as Sirius Black. He wanted to interrupt and say that he wasn't like Sirius, that he didn't even like him. But he couldn't bring himself to contradict his father.
Looking around for his mother he found her sitting in a quieter corner of the noisy room and settled down beside her. She did not appear to be enjoying the party any more than he was. In fact, as far as he could tell, she looked to be even more distressed than she'd been when she'd thought him missing. He wondered what had happened whilst he had been hiding outside.
Waiting out the evening together Eileen and Severus Snape watched their wizarding friends bring in the New Year. Severus felt his mother wrap her hand around his as the midnight chimes rang out.
"Happy New Year Severus," his mother said.
"Happy New Year mum," he replied.
"Take a good look at these people," she whispered into his ear as she hugged him in celebration. Severus wondered what she meant but glanced around the room.
"They're dangerous," she continued. "Please stay away from them if you can. Promise me."
Severus looked into the familiar eyes and saw a fear in them that was even greater than any time she had looked upon his father. He looked again at the crowded room. Something bad was happening. He could feel it. He could sense it. And looking at Lucius, Bellatrix and Narcissa as they waved to him he knew that it was already too late. He was right in the middle of it.
