1 Chapter Two
Hogwarts was blissfully quiet. Sitting at the staff table in the near- empty Great Hall, nibbling toast, Severus Snape relished the virtual silence. The lack of noise, giggling, muttering. The lack of *children*. Snape could never be said to be in a good mood, as such, but at least in the holidays, with no classes to teach and plenty of free time for his own research, his demeanour was less dour and bitter than in term-time.
Of course a few pupils had stayed over the holidays, as always, but mercifully Potter and his Merry Band of Cretins were not among them. This was after all the summer holidays; even Potter had to leave the school sometimes, and Snape had enjoyed a reasonably relaxing, brat-free summer.
It was fortunate for Snape that the letter arrived at such an opportune time, when the hall was so empty; fortunate especially that Potter et al, and those exasperating and numerous Weasleys, did not witness the majestic hawk swooping over the staff table, dropping a note wrapped around a bottle not into Snape's lap, but directly upon his greasy head. With a small, involuntary cry of "ouch!" Snape retrieved the object and removed the single sheet of paper. It did not escape his attention that the bottle contained shampoo. Nor did he fail to notice the smile quivering upon Dumbledore's lips, or the soft giggle that came from one of the few pupils eating breakfast further down the hall.
"This would be Sejanus' reply, I fancy." The headmaster remarked. Snape said nothing. He spread out the letter while the hawk watched him with an air of utter disinterest. Dumbledore, leaning across the Potions master, offered the bird a piece of toast, which it deigned to take from his hand, though maintaining a haughty air.
"Greetings, Amadeus." Murmured Dumbledore, then fell silent as Snape cleared his throat and began to read the letter in a low voice, pitched to the headmaster's ear only, though professor Sprout was blatantly eavesdropping from behind a copy of the Daily Prophet, and McGonagall was listening openly, her sharp eyes fixed curiously on Snape.
"'My dear brother," Snape read, without expression, "forgive the slight delay in replying to your wonderfully encouraging letter.'" Snape frowned at the rather heavy sarcasm, preferring himself a slimmer and sharper blade. The letter he had sent to Sejanus had simply read:
'Return to Hogwarts immediately before you disgrace the family name further. Yours affec'ly, S.'
With a grunt Snape continued to read. "'You will be glad to know that I will be arriving at Hogwarts by train at the start of the new term. I look forward to seeing you again…'" Snape broke off, cleared his throat, and tried to crumple up the letter.
"No message for me?" Asked Dumbledore with a smile. Snape hesitated, sighed, handed the paper over and pretended interest in his now cold breakfast. Dumbledore continued reading where the Potions master had left off.
"'…you greasy git. Please give my regards to Professor Dumbledore and let him know that I accept his offer. I cannot write to him also as I am in a tremendous hurry, trying to sort out the mess you people have made of my life before I leave. Thanks for that. Your loving brother, Sejanus.' Excellent news!"
"Is it?" Murmured Snape. "I suppose at least the Ministry and my grandmother will stop sending those furious letters about him. It's been difficult to keep his existence quiet all these years." Dumbledore took a sip of his tea, shooting an apparently casual glance at the potions master. Snape's sallow face was slightly flushed, and his hand trembled just a little. To Dumbledore's perceptive eye, it was obvious that Snape had missed his younger brother immensely, and was nervous about the impending reunion. It had been many years since the brothers had seen one another.
"What's this position he talks about?" Snape asked Dumbledore, but before the headmaster could reply, the hawk Amadeus, who had been sitting regally beside Snape's plate, gave a startling shriek.
"My apologies." Said Dumbledore gravely. "Thank you, Amadeus. Please feel free to rest in the Owlery if you wish." Amadeus inclined his head stiffly towards Dumbledore, rose into the air without a glance at Snape, and swooped off.
"The position." Snape reminded Dumbledore irritably. It was impossible, surely, that Sejanus might be offered the DADA post, once again empty…but the potions master was convinced Albus would rather appoint Filch than Snape himself, despite - or perhaps because of - Snape's extraordinary competence in the field. But Sejanus, thought talented in Defence Against the Dark Arts as a student, had never qualified in that or any other magical subject. Surely he could not be appointed as a teacher? Had Dumbledore offered his brother some sort of administrative job?
"…studies." Dumbledore was finishing, and Snape realised he hadn't been listening.
"I beg your pardon, headmaster?"
"Sejanus had been offered, and has accepted, the post of professor of Muggle Studies here at Hogwarts. I can think of few more qualified. He will also be assisting in a variety of subjects, including potions, as part of his training. It seems rather inappropriate to treat Sejanus as an ordinary pupil - he is an adult, after all." Snape had to agree. His brother was strikingly intelligent, a trait which had almost persuaded the Sorting Hat to place him in Ravenclaw. But Sejanus was also - or rather, had been at one time - very ambitious, and had a tendency to go about achieving his goals in rather eccentric ways. Thus he had, after some deliberation by the hat, been placed in Slytherin, along with his older brother Severus.
As an infant Sejanus had been his brother's pet, as a toddler, his playmate, as an older child, his friend, and now, his responsibility. Severus had protected and cared for his brother up until the very day Sejanus abandoned the wizarding world and chosen his own bizarre path, to the consternation of the remaining members of the Snape family - the matriarch Livia, Snape's grandmother; various cousins, and an uncle who was rather less concerned about the issue, since he lived as a hermit in Romania and had never met Sejanus or Severus. Some claimed darkly that Sejanus had inherited his weirdness from that selfsame uncle, Drusus, referred to always with a grimace and/or knowing sneer. Though sometimes, when his heart rebelled against his head, Snape wondered whether mad old uncle Drusus - and indeed Sejanus himself - might not be right in wanting to escape the world.
These confusing thoughts and feelings pursued Snape for the last few days of the holiday. Dumbledore recognised this left the potions master alone, knowing Snape was trying to work out how best to greet his errant sibling, and mend the fences left broken for so long. The headmaster made sure, however, by various little attentions, that Snape knew he had a willing listener and advisor, should be need one. He hoped that Sejanus too would come to see him as a trusted confidant, for Dumbledore had liked the young man, and rather admired his boldness in selecting such a remarkable life for himself, and doing so with success. Sejanus' departure from Oxford was being explained in terms of an exchange with another university, and as such Dumbledore had received a number of references from the tutor's superiors, all of them praising Sejanus highly - his competence, integrity, intellect, and genuine affection for those he taught.
However, despite his admiration for the young man Dumbledore believed that Sejanus was denying a vital part of himself, and such behaviour could not truly be healthy…he hoped that Sejanus, at the end of the year, would elect to remain at Hogwarts, and perhaps take on the DADA position, which would certainly be open again by that time, for the headmaster has chosen to teach the class partly himself this year. He was also planning to invite Snape to take some of the less advanced classes…ones simple enough not to tempt the potions master, but enough to persuade Severus that the headmaster really did trust him and consider him worthy. Dumbledore feared that the return of Sejanus, though mostly a cause for celebration, might bring back some difficult and unhappy memories for his world-weary elder brother.
Hogwarts was blissfully quiet. Sitting at the staff table in the near- empty Great Hall, nibbling toast, Severus Snape relished the virtual silence. The lack of noise, giggling, muttering. The lack of *children*. Snape could never be said to be in a good mood, as such, but at least in the holidays, with no classes to teach and plenty of free time for his own research, his demeanour was less dour and bitter than in term-time.
Of course a few pupils had stayed over the holidays, as always, but mercifully Potter and his Merry Band of Cretins were not among them. This was after all the summer holidays; even Potter had to leave the school sometimes, and Snape had enjoyed a reasonably relaxing, brat-free summer.
It was fortunate for Snape that the letter arrived at such an opportune time, when the hall was so empty; fortunate especially that Potter et al, and those exasperating and numerous Weasleys, did not witness the majestic hawk swooping over the staff table, dropping a note wrapped around a bottle not into Snape's lap, but directly upon his greasy head. With a small, involuntary cry of "ouch!" Snape retrieved the object and removed the single sheet of paper. It did not escape his attention that the bottle contained shampoo. Nor did he fail to notice the smile quivering upon Dumbledore's lips, or the soft giggle that came from one of the few pupils eating breakfast further down the hall.
"This would be Sejanus' reply, I fancy." The headmaster remarked. Snape said nothing. He spread out the letter while the hawk watched him with an air of utter disinterest. Dumbledore, leaning across the Potions master, offered the bird a piece of toast, which it deigned to take from his hand, though maintaining a haughty air.
"Greetings, Amadeus." Murmured Dumbledore, then fell silent as Snape cleared his throat and began to read the letter in a low voice, pitched to the headmaster's ear only, though professor Sprout was blatantly eavesdropping from behind a copy of the Daily Prophet, and McGonagall was listening openly, her sharp eyes fixed curiously on Snape.
"'My dear brother," Snape read, without expression, "forgive the slight delay in replying to your wonderfully encouraging letter.'" Snape frowned at the rather heavy sarcasm, preferring himself a slimmer and sharper blade. The letter he had sent to Sejanus had simply read:
'Return to Hogwarts immediately before you disgrace the family name further. Yours affec'ly, S.'
With a grunt Snape continued to read. "'You will be glad to know that I will be arriving at Hogwarts by train at the start of the new term. I look forward to seeing you again…'" Snape broke off, cleared his throat, and tried to crumple up the letter.
"No message for me?" Asked Dumbledore with a smile. Snape hesitated, sighed, handed the paper over and pretended interest in his now cold breakfast. Dumbledore continued reading where the Potions master had left off.
"'…you greasy git. Please give my regards to Professor Dumbledore and let him know that I accept his offer. I cannot write to him also as I am in a tremendous hurry, trying to sort out the mess you people have made of my life before I leave. Thanks for that. Your loving brother, Sejanus.' Excellent news!"
"Is it?" Murmured Snape. "I suppose at least the Ministry and my grandmother will stop sending those furious letters about him. It's been difficult to keep his existence quiet all these years." Dumbledore took a sip of his tea, shooting an apparently casual glance at the potions master. Snape's sallow face was slightly flushed, and his hand trembled just a little. To Dumbledore's perceptive eye, it was obvious that Snape had missed his younger brother immensely, and was nervous about the impending reunion. It had been many years since the brothers had seen one another.
"What's this position he talks about?" Snape asked Dumbledore, but before the headmaster could reply, the hawk Amadeus, who had been sitting regally beside Snape's plate, gave a startling shriek.
"My apologies." Said Dumbledore gravely. "Thank you, Amadeus. Please feel free to rest in the Owlery if you wish." Amadeus inclined his head stiffly towards Dumbledore, rose into the air without a glance at Snape, and swooped off.
"The position." Snape reminded Dumbledore irritably. It was impossible, surely, that Sejanus might be offered the DADA post, once again empty…but the potions master was convinced Albus would rather appoint Filch than Snape himself, despite - or perhaps because of - Snape's extraordinary competence in the field. But Sejanus, thought talented in Defence Against the Dark Arts as a student, had never qualified in that or any other magical subject. Surely he could not be appointed as a teacher? Had Dumbledore offered his brother some sort of administrative job?
"…studies." Dumbledore was finishing, and Snape realised he hadn't been listening.
"I beg your pardon, headmaster?"
"Sejanus had been offered, and has accepted, the post of professor of Muggle Studies here at Hogwarts. I can think of few more qualified. He will also be assisting in a variety of subjects, including potions, as part of his training. It seems rather inappropriate to treat Sejanus as an ordinary pupil - he is an adult, after all." Snape had to agree. His brother was strikingly intelligent, a trait which had almost persuaded the Sorting Hat to place him in Ravenclaw. But Sejanus was also - or rather, had been at one time - very ambitious, and had a tendency to go about achieving his goals in rather eccentric ways. Thus he had, after some deliberation by the hat, been placed in Slytherin, along with his older brother Severus.
As an infant Sejanus had been his brother's pet, as a toddler, his playmate, as an older child, his friend, and now, his responsibility. Severus had protected and cared for his brother up until the very day Sejanus abandoned the wizarding world and chosen his own bizarre path, to the consternation of the remaining members of the Snape family - the matriarch Livia, Snape's grandmother; various cousins, and an uncle who was rather less concerned about the issue, since he lived as a hermit in Romania and had never met Sejanus or Severus. Some claimed darkly that Sejanus had inherited his weirdness from that selfsame uncle, Drusus, referred to always with a grimace and/or knowing sneer. Though sometimes, when his heart rebelled against his head, Snape wondered whether mad old uncle Drusus - and indeed Sejanus himself - might not be right in wanting to escape the world.
These confusing thoughts and feelings pursued Snape for the last few days of the holiday. Dumbledore recognised this left the potions master alone, knowing Snape was trying to work out how best to greet his errant sibling, and mend the fences left broken for so long. The headmaster made sure, however, by various little attentions, that Snape knew he had a willing listener and advisor, should be need one. He hoped that Sejanus too would come to see him as a trusted confidant, for Dumbledore had liked the young man, and rather admired his boldness in selecting such a remarkable life for himself, and doing so with success. Sejanus' departure from Oxford was being explained in terms of an exchange with another university, and as such Dumbledore had received a number of references from the tutor's superiors, all of them praising Sejanus highly - his competence, integrity, intellect, and genuine affection for those he taught.
However, despite his admiration for the young man Dumbledore believed that Sejanus was denying a vital part of himself, and such behaviour could not truly be healthy…he hoped that Sejanus, at the end of the year, would elect to remain at Hogwarts, and perhaps take on the DADA position, which would certainly be open again by that time, for the headmaster has chosen to teach the class partly himself this year. He was also planning to invite Snape to take some of the less advanced classes…ones simple enough not to tempt the potions master, but enough to persuade Severus that the headmaster really did trust him and consider him worthy. Dumbledore feared that the return of Sejanus, though mostly a cause for celebration, might bring back some difficult and unhappy memories for his world-weary elder brother.
