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Wizards Honour
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Part 2
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"Ah, lovely," Edgar Greenwood murmured while he drizzled a tablespoon of golden honey into his cup of tea. Tea, buttered toast and the Daily Prophet's Gossip Column were Edgar's favourite breakfast. He had the first two and soon, once the owl arrived with his newspaper, it would be a perfect morning.
"I wonder how our Aurora's doing?" he said to Minum, his pet budgerigar. Minum cheeped merrily at the mirror in his cage, which Edgar took to be a reply to his question.
"Hmmm, I don't rightly know if she'll be that happy with us," Edgar informed the little blue and white bird. The old man nibbled his toast and though of his great-niece. Aurora was a tough one, although that was no surprise. She'd been the first member of the Greenwood family to be put into Slytherin since the family had started sending their children to Hogwarts School in the 15th century. Slytherin House wasn't kind to its students just as the Greenwood's hadn't been gentle with Aurora.
It was all Aurora's father's fault, of course. No one had been able to stop Elsie Greenwood once she'd decided to marry Astron Sinistra. Edgar could still recall the arguments. Elsie demanded the right to marry the man who was nearly forty years older than her because she loved him. Her father, Tobias, ordered her to choose someone who: wasn't tainted by darkness; came from a decent family that wasn't know for dabbling in the Dark Arts; and, wasn't old enough to be her grandfather. In the end Elsie had simply apparated out of her father's house and married Sinistra regardless of her family's opinion.
Three years later, Elsie had contacted her father to tell him he had a new granddaughter. Everyone in the family had hoped that Aurora's arrival would ease the rift between Elsie and her father but it wasn't to be. By the time Tobias Greenwood was willing to speak to his daughter, Aurora had gone to Hogwarts and been sorted into Slytherin. That was a mortal sin in Tobias' eyes and he refused to meet the child.
The irony that Elsie and Astron Sinistra and Tobias Greenwood had all died fighting for light in the battle against Voldemort had not been lost on Edgar Greenwood. After their deaths Edgar had sought out his great-niece, who was in her fifth year at Hogwarts, and taken her under his wing. Whether she'd wanted it or not. They'd got on quite well, although the child had inherited her father's tasteless Slytherin sense of humour.
Problem was the dratted girl refused to find a decent man and settle down. Edgar would like to see his brother's great-grandchildren before he died, maybe even hang around long enough to see them graduate from Hogwarts, hopefully top of their class in Ravenclaw.
Edgar had learnt from his brother's mistakes. Tobias had allowed Elsie to choose her husband. Well, an arranged marriage was good enough for Edgar's great-great-great-great-grand-parents and it would be good enough for Aurora. After all, at thirty-two she was definitely an old maid. A Slytherin old maid, too! She would be the oldest bride in four generations of the Greenwood family.
"We've got a hard task in front of us, Minum," Edgar mumbled through a mouthful of toast. The bird's reply was lost in the noise made by the arrival of three postal owls.
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'Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, turn. One, two, three, four.' The Bloody Baron counted silently. He watched Professor Severus Snape and knew that he was not a happy man.
'Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.' This was the sixth time today that Snape had paced the length of the hallway outside his rooms. Pacing was a sure sign that Severus Snape was upset about something.
'Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen.' If Snape was pacing this much, reasoned the Baron, then the young man must be facing some powerful inner demons indeed.
'Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, turn. One, two,' The Baron sighed silently and watched Snape pace the hallway for the seventh time. It was going to be a long day for the Slytherin House.
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Severus felt the familiar thump of the hallway's stone floor beneath his feet. He reached the wall for the twenty-sixth time and turned.
'Yes,' thought Severus, 'the hallway remained a nice, constant, comforting nineteen paces long. Unlike the stairs, the political situation of the Wizarding World, Neville Longbottom's potions and his personal life, this nice comforting hallway did not change without warning nor did it try to manipulate him. It remained calm, it remained steady, it remained... seventeen paces long?!'
"What the hell is going on?" Snape yelled at the wall. The Bloody Baron glided up to him.
"You changed the length of your stride, Master Severus," hissed Hogwart's most ancient spectre.
"Oh, thank you, Baron." Snape sneered and turned. Angrily, he strode away towards the Potions classroom.
'Great! Now I've got naff legs too,' he thought as he paced along the corridor, not bothering to count his paces. 'Why does everything have to change? I was just getting used to routine and someone goes and changes my damn feet!' Snape stopped at that thought and put his hand over his eyes, quelling the tantrum.
"Severus Snape you are a pillock!" he said loudly.
"If you say so," said Nearly-Headless Nick, the Griffindor House ghost, as he wafted past.
Snape tried to think of a clever response but Nick was gone before he could say anything.
'Oh good one Severus. Make an idiot of yourself why don't you?' Snape almost ran the rest of the way to his Potions classroom. 'Today cannot get any worse,' he thought, opening the door.
"'Morning Professor," Aurora Sinistra said cheerfully from the teacher's chair. "Are you ready for the weekly Slytherin staff meeting?"
'OK, so it could get worse.'
Snape stared coldly at Sinistra. "I doubt that anything I could say to you today would be worth repeating or of use in the educational advancement of our students."
"Ah!" Sinistra hopped off the chair and walked up to the nearly-steaming Potions Professor. "I take it now's not a good time to discuss the First Year's behaviour?"
"Now is not a good time to discuss anything! Particularly not with you!" Severus channelled all of his anger into his voice. The tantrum, that had been building up inside him since he'd fallen off his chair and embarrassed himself the day before, spilled over and drove him to add a snarling sneer.
Sinistra leant back as if Snape was aflame. "Sorry." Sinistra quickly left the room. 'Thank you so much Uncle Edgar,' she thought angrily while she headed towards the stairs. 'Salazar's Teeth, you'd think someone offered to marry Snape to a Basilisk the way he's behaving.'
Snape watched the door close behind the younger teacher. He knew he shouldn't be taking his anger out on her but it felt too good not to do so.
In the shadows of the classroom, the Baron watched and pondered the situation. 'This calls for a little good old-fashioned Slytherin guile.'
To be continued
Author's note: - thank you to everyone who has reviewed the story so far.
Wizards Honour
--------------
Part 2
--------------
"Ah, lovely," Edgar Greenwood murmured while he drizzled a tablespoon of golden honey into his cup of tea. Tea, buttered toast and the Daily Prophet's Gossip Column were Edgar's favourite breakfast. He had the first two and soon, once the owl arrived with his newspaper, it would be a perfect morning.
"I wonder how our Aurora's doing?" he said to Minum, his pet budgerigar. Minum cheeped merrily at the mirror in his cage, which Edgar took to be a reply to his question.
"Hmmm, I don't rightly know if she'll be that happy with us," Edgar informed the little blue and white bird. The old man nibbled his toast and though of his great-niece. Aurora was a tough one, although that was no surprise. She'd been the first member of the Greenwood family to be put into Slytherin since the family had started sending their children to Hogwarts School in the 15th century. Slytherin House wasn't kind to its students just as the Greenwood's hadn't been gentle with Aurora.
It was all Aurora's father's fault, of course. No one had been able to stop Elsie Greenwood once she'd decided to marry Astron Sinistra. Edgar could still recall the arguments. Elsie demanded the right to marry the man who was nearly forty years older than her because she loved him. Her father, Tobias, ordered her to choose someone who: wasn't tainted by darkness; came from a decent family that wasn't know for dabbling in the Dark Arts; and, wasn't old enough to be her grandfather. In the end Elsie had simply apparated out of her father's house and married Sinistra regardless of her family's opinion.
Three years later, Elsie had contacted her father to tell him he had a new granddaughter. Everyone in the family had hoped that Aurora's arrival would ease the rift between Elsie and her father but it wasn't to be. By the time Tobias Greenwood was willing to speak to his daughter, Aurora had gone to Hogwarts and been sorted into Slytherin. That was a mortal sin in Tobias' eyes and he refused to meet the child.
The irony that Elsie and Astron Sinistra and Tobias Greenwood had all died fighting for light in the battle against Voldemort had not been lost on Edgar Greenwood. After their deaths Edgar had sought out his great-niece, who was in her fifth year at Hogwarts, and taken her under his wing. Whether she'd wanted it or not. They'd got on quite well, although the child had inherited her father's tasteless Slytherin sense of humour.
Problem was the dratted girl refused to find a decent man and settle down. Edgar would like to see his brother's great-grandchildren before he died, maybe even hang around long enough to see them graduate from Hogwarts, hopefully top of their class in Ravenclaw.
Edgar had learnt from his brother's mistakes. Tobias had allowed Elsie to choose her husband. Well, an arranged marriage was good enough for Edgar's great-great-great-great-grand-parents and it would be good enough for Aurora. After all, at thirty-two she was definitely an old maid. A Slytherin old maid, too! She would be the oldest bride in four generations of the Greenwood family.
"We've got a hard task in front of us, Minum," Edgar mumbled through a mouthful of toast. The bird's reply was lost in the noise made by the arrival of three postal owls.
--------------------------------
'Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, turn. One, two, three, four.' The Bloody Baron counted silently. He watched Professor Severus Snape and knew that he was not a happy man.
'Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.' This was the sixth time today that Snape had paced the length of the hallway outside his rooms. Pacing was a sure sign that Severus Snape was upset about something.
'Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen.' If Snape was pacing this much, reasoned the Baron, then the young man must be facing some powerful inner demons indeed.
'Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, turn. One, two,' The Baron sighed silently and watched Snape pace the hallway for the seventh time. It was going to be a long day for the Slytherin House.
--------------------------------
Severus felt the familiar thump of the hallway's stone floor beneath his feet. He reached the wall for the twenty-sixth time and turned.
'Yes,' thought Severus, 'the hallway remained a nice, constant, comforting nineteen paces long. Unlike the stairs, the political situation of the Wizarding World, Neville Longbottom's potions and his personal life, this nice comforting hallway did not change without warning nor did it try to manipulate him. It remained calm, it remained steady, it remained... seventeen paces long?!'
"What the hell is going on?" Snape yelled at the wall. The Bloody Baron glided up to him.
"You changed the length of your stride, Master Severus," hissed Hogwart's most ancient spectre.
"Oh, thank you, Baron." Snape sneered and turned. Angrily, he strode away towards the Potions classroom.
'Great! Now I've got naff legs too,' he thought as he paced along the corridor, not bothering to count his paces. 'Why does everything have to change? I was just getting used to routine and someone goes and changes my damn feet!' Snape stopped at that thought and put his hand over his eyes, quelling the tantrum.
"Severus Snape you are a pillock!" he said loudly.
"If you say so," said Nearly-Headless Nick, the Griffindor House ghost, as he wafted past.
Snape tried to think of a clever response but Nick was gone before he could say anything.
'Oh good one Severus. Make an idiot of yourself why don't you?' Snape almost ran the rest of the way to his Potions classroom. 'Today cannot get any worse,' he thought, opening the door.
"'Morning Professor," Aurora Sinistra said cheerfully from the teacher's chair. "Are you ready for the weekly Slytherin staff meeting?"
'OK, so it could get worse.'
Snape stared coldly at Sinistra. "I doubt that anything I could say to you today would be worth repeating or of use in the educational advancement of our students."
"Ah!" Sinistra hopped off the chair and walked up to the nearly-steaming Potions Professor. "I take it now's not a good time to discuss the First Year's behaviour?"
"Now is not a good time to discuss anything! Particularly not with you!" Severus channelled all of his anger into his voice. The tantrum, that had been building up inside him since he'd fallen off his chair and embarrassed himself the day before, spilled over and drove him to add a snarling sneer.
Sinistra leant back as if Snape was aflame. "Sorry." Sinistra quickly left the room. 'Thank you so much Uncle Edgar,' she thought angrily while she headed towards the stairs. 'Salazar's Teeth, you'd think someone offered to marry Snape to a Basilisk the way he's behaving.'
Snape watched the door close behind the younger teacher. He knew he shouldn't be taking his anger out on her but it felt too good not to do so.
In the shadows of the classroom, the Baron watched and pondered the situation. 'This calls for a little good old-fashioned Slytherin guile.'
To be continued
Author's note: - thank you to everyone who has reviewed the story so far.