And Now… Some Malfoys:

1977...

Severus landed at the front door of the elegant and massive Malfoy Manor with the quietest possible crack of apparition that he could manage, being little more than the sound of two rocks clacking softly together. He controlled his decent back into reality with an ease that many wizards would never achieve even after a century of life, not to mention still being in their first year of legal apparition use.

Severus had actually learned to Apparate at the age of eight, by accident, when he'd wished himself away from his home and to the sanctuary of the park after being locked in a dark closet for what had felt like days. He'd earned another beating for it, but Severus had found a new way to escape, so it had been worth it. That had all come to a crashing halt the summer before he went to Hogwarts for the first time and the magical trace was put on him. He'd been pathetically grateful when his seventeenth birthday finally came along so he could Apparate again.

And he put it to good use whenever possible.

The Malfoy estate wards had long ago been set to recognize him as a welcome friend, thus allowing him to bypass having to beg entrance at the gate a good half mile down the long white gravel drive. But, not being an immediate member of the family, or in the presence of an immediate member of the family, the wards forced him to land outside and he still had to knock at the door.

Said door swung open soundlessly, not daring to make an offending squeak or creak. Severus immediately cast his gaze downwards and gave the bug eyed house elf clad in only a greying pillowcase a hint of a smile. "Hello, Dobby."

The elf bobbed and blushed and gestured with an arm. "Come in, Master Severus, come in! Welcome back!"

Severus sidled into the house, glancing up the very wide main hallway that ran from the entrance hall all the way to the back of the house to see if anyone was about. Unsurprisingly, no one had heard his knock but the elves; the mansion was HUGE after all, covering more than an acre of land and up to four aboveground floors in the many square towers, plus a couple of floors below ground that most would easily get lost in due to the dark maze of hallways and rooms and dead ends. (Severus loved it down there.) He shook his head at the tiny elf that barely reached his thighs. "Just Severus, Dobby," he said for the three hundred and seventh time. (Yes, he was keeping a running tally for the sake of amusement to see if his words would ever sink in.) "You know I'm not the master of anyone."

And for the three hundred and seventh time, Dobby shook his head right back as he closed the door without a sound. "The blood in your veins still says otherwise, Master Severus."

Severus scoffed. "Little good that does me; aside from my mother, who doesn't count, the only Prince who even acknowledges my existence is Aunt Elena. To the rest of them, I might as well be a house-elf like you, for their truly astounding ability to look right through me as if I don't exist."

Severus had 'met', if you could call it that, his relatives on a few occasions when he was here at the same time as they were, visiting his aunt. The very first time he'd seen them during a Christmas break, when he was twelve, his grandfather had only glanced at him for half a second and then proceeded to ignore him. His grandmother, after giving him a two second look of wide eyed amazement, had glanced at her frowning husband, and then never looked at Severus again. His two uncles, who were both older than their sisters and carbon copies of their black eyed and black and silver haired father (minus the silver), had also followed their father's example. And so had their wives and children. His older cousins, who he should have met previously but hadn't because they had all been sent to either Durmstrang or Beauxbatons - Hogwarts being considered too contaminated now that it let in half-bloods and muggle-borns thanks to Dumbledore's rise to Headmaster, and also why the Prince name was all but forgotten at Hogwarts – had the hardest time of pretending he didn't exist, but they managed despite their obvious curiosity.

His grandfather had made Severus feel more like insignificant dirt than anyone else ever had in his life. (His father might hate him, but at least he interacted with him.) Severus was fairly certain that he could even go so far as to perform acrobatics in front of his mother's people and still not get a reaction. He'd actually been tempted to try and catch their attention once, but Lucius had held him back with a shake of his head. Severus knew Lucius was right; making a fool of himself in front of them and Abraxas Malfoy was a surefire way to get himself permanently evicted from the Malfoy estate.

And that would be a tragedy, because this place had all but become his home. It was the only place where he felt even remotely welcome and had never been attacked or beaten to within an inch of his last breath.

He even had a few real friends here, as the little elf by his feet demonstrated in his own uncomfortable way.

Dobby hugged Severus around the knees tightly. "You'll always exist to us, Master Severus. You are the nicest person here to us elves. You always see us, even when everyone else does not. Sometimes even when you're not supposed to," Dobby added under his breath.

Severus heard him anyway and smirked slightly. It was a known fact that house-elves liked to do their work in secret and spent most of their time disillusioned while seemingly making things happen without people realizing it had been done until it already was. Perhaps thanks to his Legilimency, Severus always knew where the elves were and could usually see through their disillusionment charms with a little bit of concentration.

Severus reached down and patted the elf on top of his bald head awkwardly as he tried to casually shuffle out of the elf's surprisingly strong grip. "Yes, and I always will, I promise," he answered the part of what Dobby had said that he was supposed to hear. "But do you think you could let me go so I can go say hello to Lucius?"

Dobby reluctantly did as asked, wringing his hands. "Of course. Of course. Master Severus would never want to stay with such an undesirable as Dobby, anyway."

The tall and gangly teenager somehow refrained from rolling his eyes at the familiar guilt trip that Dobby liked to lay on him at least once per visit. "You know it's not that, Dobby. I just want to let Lucius know that I'm here, all right?"

The tiny and gangly elf of indeterminate age sighed heavily but nodded. "As is right, I suppose."

"It is only common courtesy, Dobby. You can help me in my lab later, okay?"

The little elf brightened, practically vibrating with the prospect of being useful. "Sure, Master Severus! I like to help make potions!"

Severus' smile was somewhat forced at the prospect of the elf's 'help', but it was genuine nonetheless because he liked the company. "I know you do. And it's just Severus." Three hundred and eight.

"Yes, Master Severus," Dobby said, nodding his head, his big green eyes twinkling in his now studiously solemn face.

Cheeky wanker. He's going to make me count to a thousand, isn't he? At least I got him to stop calling me Master Snape years ago. Severus snorted inelegantly. "Can you at least tell me where Lucius is so I don't go tromping all over the manor, looking for him?"

Dobby nodded his head quickly on his spindly neck again. "Yes, he's…" He paused as his eyes went blank for a moment, magically sensing out the location of one of his masters. "…circling the east pasture and heading back towards the stables."

I have a few minutes then. "Thank you, Dobby."

The little being beamed at receiving thanks, making the young wizard grateful once again that he could bring at least a little light to Dobby's life of generally thankless servitude. The Malfoys weren't what anyone would call cruel masters to the elves – they provided a warm place to sleep and food for their servants, and they never beat them – but they still had an ingrained pure-blood philosophy towards the elves that saw them as no better than the winged horses that pulled their gilt covered carriages through the skies, or carried them over the fields for a gallop.

The difference between the horses and the elves that the pure-bloods liked to overlook was that the elves were intelligent and the horses really weren't. (Severus had yet to meet a horse that could do purposeful magic on their own or prepare a nine course meal without breaking a sweat.)

"And where are my aunt and Lord Malfoy?"

Dobby's gaze turned inward again for another second. "The Mistress is in the east sunroom and the Master is upstairs in his study."

Severus nodded again as he started walking down a side hallway towards the east side of the house. "Thanks again, Dobby," he called to the air behind him. Over the years, Dobby had been instrumental in keeping Severus out of his uncle-in-law's way, and Severus had no desire to change that; the man was even more intimidating than his own father, and that was saying something. Severus didn't even want to think what kind of man his father would be if he had access to magic on top of his strength and terrible attitude about life.

It was a bit of a trek to the east sunroom that involved a few different hallways and passing snidely remarking portraits about his undesirable status, but when Severus arrived at the huge glass enclosed and flower filled room at the back corner of the mansion, it was worth it to see his aunt light up at his entrance.

The slender woman - exceedingly beautiful with her midnight tresses cascading down her back in soft waves, and elegantly dressed in an emerald green day gown that made her black eyes glow - was everything her older sister used to be and should still be. "Severus!" his aunt cried happily, springing to her feet in a graceful display, leaving her embroidery hovering in the air with the enchanted needle poised in mid stitch. "You're here early!"

"Hello, Auntie," he said warmly as he met her halfway across the room. He leaned down so she could kiss his cheek in her usual greeting without having to strain her neck and toes.

Then she stepped back and eyed him up and down, planting her hands on her hips. "I do believe you've grown yet again, Severus Snape."

He hid the flinch at the use of the last name that he hated and turned it into the flicker of a woeful smile. "The hemline of my trousers would agree with you, Auntie," he said dryly. "I had to lengthen them twice in the last few months. Thank Merlin for magic, or my ankles would have been showing. I had the same problem with the sleeves of my shirts." He pushed the cuffs of his jacket and shirt back, showing his bony wrist, to demonstrate.

Elena laughed softly, her eyes crinkling at the corners just so. She patted his chest consolingly. "Oh, the tribulations of the young. You'll stop soon enough and then maybe your body can put some time into adding a bit of meat to your bones. Even for a Prince, you're still dreadfully thin."

"As I'm all too aware, Auntie." His dry tone increased to rival last year's leaves. "And yes, I am eating, so don't ask again."

Elena pouted. "I wasn't going to." Her pout turned to a frown. "Why ARE you here early? The train isn't even scheduled to arrive at King's Cross for another half hour. Is something wrong at home?"

He shook his head quickly to allay her fears. "Nothing worse than normal, Auntie. I skipped the train ride, is all. And I was home for half an hour or so, but my father was up and we had a disagreement, so I left. I hope you don't mind my early arrival?"

Her frown intensified for a moment as she searched his eyes, looking for hidden meanings in his words that Severus very carefully didn't let her see; his aunt was a natural Legilimens as well but she didn't know that he knew that she was.

The gift showed up once and only once per generation of Princes and only ever in the ones that inherited the dark colouring of the first Prince who was rumoured to be the heir to a gypsy king and died tragically before his father and thus never rose in status. Severus had always wondered what his relatives thought when none of his cousins showed any talent for mind reading. And since he'd never let on to his aunt that he could read her thoughts right back, it was possible that they thought that the gift had abandoned the bloodline.

What he did let her see was the pleasant part of his morning spent at home and talking with his mother. He let her see him shoveling coal. He let her see him standing (almost) nose to nose with his father as they argued about bacon. Everything else was buried at the back of his mind behind an impenetrable Occlumency shield he'd learned to put up all on his own after researching everything he could about it in both the Hogwarts and the Malfoy libraries back when he was eleven on his mother's recommendation.

Aside from some unpleasantness, his Aunt Elena did not know, and would never know, just how bad his family life was.

With a soft, 'hmmmph,' she patted his chest once more and smiled gently. Sympathetically. "Of course I don't mind you arriving early. You're always welcome here, Severus. Always."

Severus relaxed as he dipped down and kissed her soft cheek, getting a strong whiff of her lilac scented shampoo in the process. "Thanks, Auntie. I'm off to track down Lucius now."

She turned and looked out the wall of windows that overlooked the winter garden. "He's out there somewhere, riding."

"Thanks. I'll wait for him in the stables." He didn't bother mentioning that Dobby had already more or less told him the same thing.

Severus stepped through one of the sliding glass doors as his aunt settled back into her comfortable chair and resumed guiding her magical stitching with a waving finger. "Make sure you're back in time for lunch, dear!" she called just before he slid the door shut.

He chuckled softly. Always trying to feed me.

Severus walked through one of the gardens, mostly bare of greenery this time of year, but the pathways and fountains were still beautiful. Feeling more settled within himself after his resolutions of the morning, he even enjoyed the weak sunlight that filtered through the wispy clouds as it shone upon his head. A few minutes stroll had him turning a corner around a hedge and walking out into the stable yard that encompassed acres of the Malfoy estate.

The Malfoys had always kept winged horses to use as transportation on the rare occasion that they interacted with the muggle world and the invention of the automobile hadn't changed centuries worth of tradition and it probably never would. (As far as they were concerned, if the Queen of England could still use a horse-drawn carriage for special occasions, than so could they; they just disillusioned the horses' wings.)

Not to mention they quite enjoyed taking their equine pets out for a spin as a recreational activity that rivaled broom riding despite not being as fast. The wind still whipped through your hair just as well, and the surge of muscles underneath you as the horse ran over the ground or flew through the sky was quite exhilarating.

Passing by a row of paddocks that each contained a shining white pureblood Pegasus happily munching on hay, some of whom raised their heads as he passed, watching him curiously, Severus approached the massive stable from the side. Going in through a side door, he passed a double row of large clean and empty stalls that the winged white horses occupied at night. There were spotless marble floors underfoot and chandeliers overhead, and the beautiful wood stalls had gilt framework, giving testimony to the sheer wealth of the Malfoy family.

He kept on walking through the barn, passing the central section and the open front doors that gave a view of the driveway that eventually led out to the country road. He passed another double row of empty stalls and went back outside to the row of paddocks that housed the black versions of the winged horse and Severus stopped at the second paddock that housed his favourite; one that Lucius had let him name when the young horse had first arrived from the breeding farm in Greece a few years ago.

"Eclipse!" he called from the fenceline.

The Pegasus' elegant head popped up out of his manger and his long ears flicked backwards. The young stallion swished his full black tail and then dove back into his manger.

"Eclipse," he called again, chidingly, laughing. "It'll still be there in a minute. No one's going to steal it while you're gone."

The horse raised his head again, flicked his ears backward again, turned his head around to actually look at Severus, snorted at him, and then went back to eating his hay.

Giving in to the inevitable, Severus accioed an apple from his pocket that he'd saved from the breakfast table. Hiding it in the palm of his hand, he crossed his arms and leaned on the top rail of the paddock. "Would you like a treat?"

Eclipse's head shot up again, and faster than a blink, the horse was at the fenceline and snuffling him all over, looking for his treat. Severus laughed at the horse as his soft muzzle came to a stop and waffled at his closed hand. "Smart boy." He opened his fingers and let the horse bite half the apple off his palm. "You always were a sucker for a treat." The horse chewed happily, drooling apple juice everywhere, then snatched the second half of the apple out of his hand. Severus rubbed his silky black forehead as Eclipse chewed and toyed with the long forelock that fell below the gentle brown eyes.

Hearing hooves walking up the driveway, Severus glanced over his shoulder and smiled. He turned back to 'his' horse and gave him one last pat. "We'll go for a ride this afternoon, kay? Stretch your wings a bit?"

Eclipse snorted his acceptance of the plan and then trotted back to his hay manger.

Severus headed back into the barn and walked to the big front door. There, he propped himself up in the shadows of the doorway and watched with more than a little envy as Lucius jumped off his white horse and then strode the few steps over to the other black horse. He reached up grasped Cissa around her narrow waist as she put her hands on his shoulders, her light laughter sounding like bells. He pulled her down off her sidesaddle and directly into his arms, never letting her feet touch the ground. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he whispered something to her that Severus couldn't quite catch as they rubbed noses. She nodded, smiling beautifully, her hands burying into the pale strands of his collar length hair.

And then they were kissing, and he was still holding her up like she weighed nothing, and they were making little pleasure noises, and Severus sighed at the realization that he'd probably never be loved like that.

And the horses were wandering away, looking for nibbles of dead grass at the edges of the fine gravel drive.

Severus pushed off the wall and retrieved the horses, grabbing their now dangling reins before they could get stepped on and accidently hurt their mouths.

If Lucius or Cissa noticed him and the horses as he walked past them and into the barn, they gave no sign of it; their blonde heads never parted for even an instant.

Severus was amused, and not even remotely surprised, having witnessed their passion for each other on a multitude of occasions over the years. He also wasn't surprised to see her here, even though neither Dobby nor his aunt had indicated that Lucius had company on his ride this morning; Cissa was a regular visitor to the manor, probably spending more time here than she did at her own home when she wasn't working her part-time shifts at the Ministry in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. She didn't need to work, but Cissa said she liked the challenge of verbal sparring with wizards and witches from other countries. Severus also suspected that she'd been placed there to more or less spy for Lord Voldemort, but it had never been confirmed in his hearing or within anyone's thoughts that he'd caught.

Lucius, to all appearances, lived the leisure life of a well-to-do gentleman, but actually spent a great deal of his time assisting his father with the running of their various business interests that kept them as rich as they were.

Severus put each horse into a tack up stall which prompted the magical arrival of two elves to take care of the horses. Severus nodded his thanks to Winky and Stubby as they vanished the horses' tack with a snap of their knobby fingers and then set some brushes to do their work with another flick of their fingers. Severus gave each (mostly) patient horse one last pat on the neck and then wandered back to the front door to meet Lucius and Cissa, who had finally deigned to part their lips from each other for a moment. (But their arms were still entwined as they walked side by side.)

The couple beamed bright smiles, showing their perfect teeth, as they met Severus in the doorway.

"Severus! Nice to see you're still in one piece," Lucius teased, clapping his free hand on Severus' back.

Severus flinched slightly as his not yet healed back protested with a violent spasm; the dittany had healed the cuts, but the muscle damage and bruising was still very much present.

Ever the observant, Lucius frowned. "Or maybe not so much?"

Severus inclined his head slightly. "I've been better."

"Who was it this time?"

"Does it matter?"

The Malfoy heir sighed, exchanged a knowing look with Cissa, and then shook his head. "I guess not. Not yet anyway. Bloody Gryffindors," he added under his breath.

Severus was content to let Lucius think whatever he wanted. It was better than the truth. "My sentiments precisely." He fell into step beside his cousin as Lucius moved towards the manor and noted with some little bit of pride that he was now decidedly taller than his friend. Still a broomstick, but taller. "One Gryffindor especially."

Lucius shot him a commiserating look as they strolled casually past the paddocks of whites. "Yeah, I saw it in the morning paper. Took up the whole front page. Romantic kneel and kiss and everything. Sorry, mate."

"It's in the paper already?" Severus said with disgust. "That was bloody fast, considering there's no press at the school."

"Potter must have had it all planned out," Cissa theorized. "If he knew he was going to ask for Lily's hand at the Leaving Feast, then he could have had the papers on standby and had one of his cohorts taking pictures."

"There was also a statement from James Potter's father, Fleamont, that they are pleased as could be with their son's choice of fiancé. There was no mention of her mu…"Lucius glanced at Severus and changed what he was going to say, knowing how that other word bothered him. "…muggle-born status, but the lack of familial ties listed on her side says it clearly enough."

"They might as well have just openly declared themselves enemies of our Dark Lord," Cissa said, her tone dripping disbelief as she hugged Lucius' arm and shivered at the horror of doing such a thing. "They're just begging for a visit from the Death Eaters with idiocy like that."

"That's their problem, isn't it," Severus stated bitterly. All of them were politely ignoring the fact that Severus used to hope that Lily would be HIS fiancé one day and how that would have affected Severus' already questionable status. Perhaps it was all for the best.

"Yes, it is," Lucius said firmly even as the snake tattoo on his left forearm tingled as if in anticipation. Bloody thing. I swear our Lord knows everything we say from the way it acts. That thought alone sent a chill down his spine but he determinedly ignored it. "I think a change of topic is in order."

"Agreed," Cissa and Severus said together, prompting them to exchange grins around Lucius.

The blond wizard chuffed in amusement. "So our new topic is… Togs!"

Cissa perked up and Severus rolled his eyes. Here we go again.

"Our boy, Severus, here, needs to get measured for his groomsman togs, and… " Lucius swung his free arm around Severus' shoulders, which fortunately weren't QUITE as sore as the rest of his back. This prompted Lucius to pause in his step as he realized he had to reach UP to do it. "Merlin's beard, Sev, it's a good thing I made an appointment at T&T's for tomorrow morning; you've grown again!"

After hearing this for the third time in a morning, Severus could only drawl out, "So it seems." He shrugged out from under Lucius' arm as casually as possible. "You were saying something about groomsman togs?" he prompted, inspiring Lucius to start walking and talking again.

"Right. Togs. We have a week left until the wedding and the tailors are anxious to get their greedy little hands on you, Sev, so they can make your formal suit. I suggested they use your measurements from the last time you were in for new school uniforms, but they scoffed at that." Lucius adopted a high nosed, haughty, and pinched expression and raised his voice a couple of octaves as he quoted, "The measurements of a teenage boy are useless, Mr. Malfoy. You should know this, considering how many times you came in for new uniforms and suits during your growing years. Now, if we were talking about a seventeen year old girl… that would be an entirely different matter." Lucius completed his impersonation with a toss of his head that left his nose pointed even higher.

Amused, Severus frowned downwards at his flat-as-a-board chest and then crossed his eyes at his prominent nose. "I think it's safe to say that I'm no girl. But if I were, I'd be the ugliest one ever."

Lucius gawked at Severus' deadpan humour for a moment before he bent over in nearly uncontrollable guffaws, hanging onto his knees. Severus leaned against a convenient bird bath with his arms crossed over his chest and his lips twitching upwards while he waited for his friend to pull himself together. Cissa smirked at her fiancé, her pale blue eyes sparkling much like her matching winter robes, as he made multiple attempts at taking a deep breath, but Lucius would take one look at Severus and lose it all over again. Occasionally a word would make its way out that more or less sounded like, 'You', 'Girl', or 'Never'.

Some three and a half minutes later, Lucius finally got a grip on his laughter, and he sucked in air gratefully. His face was nearly red and there might have been a tear or two on his cheeks, but Severus was polite enough not to point that out.

"Merlin's balls, Sev, don't do that to me," Lucius complained as they all started walking through the garden again, aiming for the huge patio and the glass doors beyond that which led into their favourite living room (one of six that the manor boasted) full of comfy furniture, various games like Wizarding Chess, and even a huge screen and muggle projector.

The Malfoy's had a secret fondness for muggle-made movies that they would never admit to their peers. And because of their wealth, it was easy enough for them to get their hands on movies that hadn't even been released yet in Britain, such as the insanely good space movie called Star Wars that Lucius and Severus had watched at least a dozen times that summer; the last six or so times just to drool over Princess Leia in her thin white robe-dress that left little to the imagination in the chest department. (An outfit that no respectable witch would ever be caught out of her bedchamber in.)

Severus smirked as they walked. "But I so rarely get to see you crack like that, Lucius. It's vastly entertaining."

Lucius shoved his shoulder playfully. "Git."

Severus shoved back. "And proud of it."

The happy young people filed into the huge house and shed their outer layers, flinging coats and robes onto the back of a chair. Severus sprawled (carefully) over the length of a couch and Lucius and Cissa picked another couch to share. Her legs took up most of it as she leaned back against him and he wrapped his arm around her waist in a comfortable position that they'd adopted probably a thousand times over the years, having been 'together' since their Third Year.

Lucius kissed the top of her head and they shared a loving look before he turned his focus back to the younger male. "I can't help but notice that you're here a day earlier than your note said you'd be. I would have made our appointment at T&T's for this afternoon if I had known."

Severus hmmmmmed in agreement. "Your powers of observation are as astute as ever, Lucius," he said dryly.

"Care to explain?"

"Perhaps. Would you like to hear about my morning so far?"

"Of course, Sev. You always have the most fascinating tales to tell about your life." Lucius was only partially teasing.

Severus settled in to tell an edited version of his morning that didn't involve him getting his arse handed to him by his father. "So, as you can imagine, my morning started off about as miserably as possible, with everyone gawping over Lily's excessively large diamond ring during breakfast…"

Half an hour later…

"I still can't believe you more or less Apparated right off the train," Lucius said, shaking his head with wide grey eyes. "I've never heard of anyone even thinking about trying that before."

Severus was grateful that Lucius had picked that fact to goggle over as opposed to his fight with his father.

"I have."

The three young people scrambled into more dignified positions at the sound of Abraxas Malfoy's deep and slightly disapproving voice. They turned and looked behind them to the door that led to the main part of the house and found Lucius' father leaning against it, his patrician features turned down in a stern frown, made especially obvious today because he had his long hair clubbed back; which meant he was going out for the afternoon.

How long has he been standing there? Severus thought in alarm.

"Father. What do you mean?" Lucius asked as the Lord of the House advanced into the room.

Abraxas tossed a plain grey circular container on the coffee table in front of Severus. The front read 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'. "I mean that I once saw a girl in an absolute snit with her boyfriend jump off the train between carriages and Apparate away when she was about an inch from crashing into the ground."

"Bloody hell," came out practically in sync from both young wizards.

And, "Sweet Circe," was Cissa's contribution in addition to all of their wide eyed looks.

"Is it anyone we know?" Lucius asked.

Abraxas' mouth quirked up as he eyed his son. "Your mother."

"WHAT!?"

Abraxas chuckled at the reaction.

Cissa asked the question that had instantly popped into Severus' mind but he hadn't the courage to vocalize, so he was grateful to her. "What did you DO to make her react like that, Sir?"

Abraxas smiled wider than Severus had ever seen him do. "It wasn't me. It was Bartemius Crouch."

They took a moment to process that and then Cissa changed her question. "What did HE do?"

"She caught him snogging another Fifth Year, I believe," Abraxas answered with a smirk. "After screeching loud enough to be heard two carriages away, she turned him into a toad and then dashed off the train right in front of my eyes as I was walking out of the next carriage to see what the screech was about. I was instantly smitten, and spent the next three months convincing a supposedly soft Hufflepuff to go out with a Slytherin. Your mother was in big trouble for it, of course, because she was only fifteen at the time and Apparating at that age is illegal. They let her off the hook for turning Crouch into a toad, though, since she already had a month's worth of detention for the Apparating." Abraxas glanced at Severus, his expression somewhat warmer than normal. "Taking hotheaded risks apparently runs in the family."

Lord Malfoy made himself a little taller and his face settled back into its usual stern expression as he turned to fully face Severus, interlocking his hands behind his back "It seems I may have underestimated your abilities, boy. I think it might not be as ill-advised as I originally thought to introduce you to the Dark Lord. Lucius has told me that you are at the top of all your classes and are particularly talented at potions and have invented new curses. And now I find out that you also have a talent for sneaking. Despite your blood status, our Lord might have a use for you. You shall make his acquaintance when he arrives for the wedding."

Severus froze, eyes wide. He gulped. A squeak emerged that roughly translated into, "Yes, Sir." Holy shite on a cracker!

Abraxas nodded. "Good. I will tell him of your existence when I see him this afternoon." His chin jerked towards the doorway. "Come. It is time for lunch." He took two steps in that direction while the younger generation still sat frozen, and then he paused looking back over his shoulder. "Oh, and that movie arrived by owl just now. My sources say it is very good. We will watch it after dinner tonight."

And then he swept out of the room in a graceful stride that moved quickly without seeming to, only the slight flutter of a few wisps of his tied back hair giving proof to it.

Lucius and Severus stared at each other, not even blinking, mouths slightly agape.

It wasn't until Cissa gave a tiny snort of laughter that Severus was brought out of his trance. He swallowed his frantically beating heart back down to where it belonged. "Did that just happen?"

Lucius nodded slowly. "Yes. I think it did."

"Merlin. I think your father just spoke more words to me now than he has in all of our past interactions."

Lucius nodded again as Cissa giggled almost silently, her face buried in his shoulder. "I think you're right."

"Bloody hell, I'm going to meet the Dark Lord."

Lucius nodded again. "Good luck with that, Sev. Truly."

"Thanks."

Cissa's shoulders were still shaking.

Lucius finally noticed.

He looked down at her and touched her shoulder gently. "Are you okay?"

She looked up, her eyes shining with tears and her cheeks red from trying to hold in the laughter. "Yes. It's just…" Giggle. "Crouch…" Giggle. "I see him at the Ministry all the time, and…" She hiccupped as she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief that Lucius handed her. "I'm going to imagine him as a toad every time I see him. And now I know why he kind of croaks when he talks sometimes." Another delicate snort escaped her. "I am never going to be able to keep a straight face around him again."

Lucius was chuckling as he kissed her on the forehead. "I have faith in you, darling. You'll manage."

She handed him his handkerchief back and he vanished it absently to the laundry. "I hope so, Lucius. I can't afford to lose this job because of an attack of the giggles."

"I could make you some calming draughts to take if you want," Severus offered, not missing the fact that Cissa had more or less just confirmed that she worked because she had to, and it certainly wasn't for money.

"Oh, would you?" Cissa beamed at him. "That would be wonderful."

"Of course. In fact…" Severus pushed up onto his feet and strode over to his coat. Pulling open a pocket, he summoned a pinky sized vial. "…You could take this with you to work this afternoon."

Cissa blinked at the bright green liquid in the vial he handed her. "Thank you, but this doesn't look like any calming draught I've ever seen."

Severus smirked. "That's because it's not. It's a potion of my own design that enhances one's ability to think clearly. It's one of my best sellers at school, especially during testing times. You should easily be able to think beyond any urge to giggle, and you might find it useful in other ways as well."

Lucius and Cissa stared at the little vial with much greater appreciation. "You are a scarily brilliant boy, Severus Snape," Cissa said as she pocketed the vial. "Our Lord would be an idiot not to see how you're worth so much more than your half-blood status."

As they walked out of the living room and deeper into the house, Severus answered. "I sure hope you're right, Cissa." Because I'm most likely dead if he doesn't.