Chapter 12: Muggle Teasing
A flight of stairs let up and out of the park onto a busy street. Cars were racing by, stopped every few metres by a seemingly useless traffic light that caused screeching brakes. Snape did his best not to look too terrified, but manoeuvred himself to Lucius Malfoy's side with a few hasty steps nevertheless. A little hand reached out to tug at the other boy's revolting jacket when Bellatrix shot him a look that could have frozen a flame. The boy gulped visibly and let his hand sink down again, staying close to Lucius and the giggling Narcissa though.
They reached one of the many traffic lights and waited obediently for the green. Snape looked bewildered.
"Green means go, red means stop", Bellatrix snapped at him from the side after she had noticed his confused stare.
"Easy enough. Muggles can understand, so it shouldn't be too complicated for you. Whose brilliant idea was it again to bring the little brat along?"
She fixed her eyes back on the traffic light again, as did "the little brat" who was failing spectacularly at not looking hurt. Lucius rested a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled at the older girl pleasantly, his white teeth flashing.
"Severus is a friend of ours", he nodded towards each of his class mates, "and we as well as our parents decided that he would profit greatly by joining one of our little … excursions. Now, should you find his, in my view, highly enjoyable presence too bothersome, we can talk about it after we got back. Until then, I personally would appreciate it very much if you could focus your scorn on more deserving objects. Here in Muggle-London you should find them in abundance."
Neither his smile nor his tone had changed, but they had the desired effect. Bellatrix' lips turned into a thin line as she stared towards the other side of the street unblinkingly. She didn't say another word.
The lights finally changed to green and they crossed over, the fuming Bellatrix taking the lead again with long strides, Lucius and Narcissa with Snape in the middle right behind her. In a moment of daring the boy stuck out his tongue at the girl storming along in front of him and smiled at the two teenagers flanking him with a mixture of pride and gratitude.
When they had almost reached the pavement Lucius pulled out his wand casually, flicked it over his shoulder and muttered "Luminae arbitratae". Behind him the traffic lights started changing from red to green and back to red again without any coherent pattern, causing screeching brakes and angrily roaring engines, followed by surprised yelps. Avery, who had been bringing up the rear, narrowly avoided a big green Ford and stumbled onto the pavement, breathing heavily and glaring at Malfoy.
"Great, Lucius! Really funny! Would you mind waiting until we are all off the street next time?"
He walked off angrily, joining Bellatrix and McNair at the front. Narcissa looked pleased with her classmate and gave him another kiss on the cheek, a little less hasty this time.
Snape was still staring back at the flashing lights and the resulting chaos. He looked at his companions with a little frown on his still too pale face.
"Isn't there some kind of law against underage wizards doing magic outside of school? Especially when Muggles are around?"
"Severus", Lucius smiled at him warmly, "laws are made and controlled by people. People are also controlled by people. Let's just say our parents can afford to stretch superfluous rules a little so that we can get some first-hand experience in applying magic in a useful way."
He had put a stress on the last few words that caused the boy's frown to deepen, but Snape didn't say anything. As he looked back one last time he saw a little boy of maybe four in the middle of the street, screaming at the top of his lungs, tears rolling down his panic-stricken face. Cars were speeding past him, narrowly missing him more than once, while his mother stood on the other side of the street, wringing her hands, yelling at the boy not to move and desperately waving at the drivers, begging them to stop so she could get to her frightened child.
Snape shuddered and followed the others.
"And that's teasing?" Ron whispered, disgust in his voice. Harry didn't answer. He had the unpleasant feeling this was just the beginning.
Goyle was rummaging through the pockets of his jacket, muttering quietly under his breath.
"Looking for something?" McNair asked coldly.
"Actually, yes," Goyle shot back, apparently a little more harshly than he had intended for he lowered his gaze again immediately and mumbled:
"I know my Mom put it in here somewhere."
"Are you looking for this?" Bellatrix asked, one hand on her hip, the other holding a large leather pouch. Goyle frowned at her, confusion painted across his face.
"My mother decided it would be safer to put all the Muggle-money together and that I should be in charge of it. Nobody wants Crabbe to end up being sick again because he spent his part entirely on Muggle-food, I presume", she finished with a smirk.
Crabbe turned an interesting shade of red and the others laughed. That laughter finally broke the tension that had lingered around the group since Andromeda had disappeared and Snape joined in happily.
"What did you want the money for?" Narcissa asked her classmate, curiosity in her eyes.
"Nothing," he answered hastily. "Really, it's ok. I was just checking."
Crabbe grinned broadly and elbowed Snape in the ribs so hard the boy crashed against Avery.
"You wanna know what he wants to buy?"
"Phillip, I am going to kill you", Goyle muttered through gritted teeth. "Don't you dare …."
"He wants to buy a present for one of the Ravenclaw girls", Crabbe let out triumphantly, hiding behind Lucius to escape a badly aimed blow from his buddy who had turned from red to crimson. Snape took a step to the side so the other two could continue chasing each other along the pavement without accidentally pushing him onto the street. When nobody made a nasty comment about him and the mysterious Ravenclaw girl Goyle calmed down again and they walked on, entering what seemed to be the main shopping street. Narcissa left Lucius' side and trotted alongside Goyle. She was obviously dying to find out to whom he had lost his heart.
Snape was staring at the buildings lining the broad street in wonder. Taller and more impressive than the shops in Diagon Alley they held a variety of things that he had probably never even dreamed of. One large window caught his special attention and he gazed open-mouthed at the many books on display. Anatomy, Astrology, Mechanics, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and there, in the other corner, Poetry and Novels. He pushed a strand of black hair out of his eyes and pressed his hands against the glass beside his face to get a better look at the wonders inside the shop.
"You know, we could just get in, that would be much easier. And you wouldn't spoil the whole window, eagle nose."
He looked at Malfoy with a wistful smile.
"Would you mind?"
The older boy smiled back at him.
"Not at all, it's one of my favourite shops as well. I'll just tell the others. Narcissa and Bellatrix will want to go to the café around the corner as usual, I guess. Goyle has to buy a present for his mysterious girl friend and Crabbe will surely stock up on his food supplies. Just hold on a second, I'll try to get some money out of Bella."
Snape nodded and then turned his longing gaze back towards the window. Suddenly he spotted a familiar face inside the shop. It was Andromeda and she was in the arms of a dark-haired young man. They were exchanging playful kisses while waiting for their turn to pay. She looked totally happy and relaxed.
"Ready to go in?"
Snape started up. He hadn't heard Lucius coming.
"Yes, sure."
For some reason he didn't mention what he had seen and did his best to steer clear of the cash counter until the kissing couple had left the shop.
Tonks had rested her head on her folded arms and looked up at the bubble like at a romantic movie in the cinema. Her feet were swinging under her chair and she was smiling, her eyes shining. She looked stunning like that, so relaxed, and suddenly Harry realised how much she looked like the woman in the bubble.
Of course, Andromeda was Tonks' mother. Then the young man clinging to her lips in that memory had to be Ted Tonks, the man who had knowingly married a witch and had a daughter named Nymphadora – who preferred to be called Tonks.
The two boys met with the rest of the group at the small café that Bellatrix and Narcissa seemed to like so much. Goyle was turning a little package over in his hands and refused to answer any questions concerning its contents or its future owner. A doubtful frown made him look even denser than normally. McNair and Avery were talking to each other in low voices while sipping something that looked like coffee with enormous amounts of whipped cream but seemed to contain alcohol, because their eyes were just a little too glossy. Lucius drew chairs for him and Snape and sat down beside Narcissa who was flirting with some young Muggle at the other table. Lucius glowered at the other man and took the girl's hand in his possessively. She smiled.
Snape was already buried up to his hooked nose in the book, "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman, and didn't even register that a waitress placed a cup of hot chocolate in front of him.
"You bought a Muggle-book?" Bellatrix hissed at the young boy, keeping her voice down so as to not draw attention.
"Relax, Bella", her sister piped up. "Muggle-money for a Muggle-book, nothing's wrong with that. As long as he doesn't waste real money on crap like that …"
She didn't finish the sentence and shrugged her shoulders instead. Snape looked from his book to Bellatrix, obviously puzzled.
"What's so bad about a book?" he asked in his soft voice.
"As long as you just read it for your amusement there's nothing wrong with it", McNair told him and padded him on the shoulder patronizingly.
"But don't expect any pearls of wisdom in there. Muggles are actually quite dim-witted. They are a nuisance really."
"By the way, what did the two of you do while we were looking at hollow Muggle-artefacts?" Lucius asked while playing with his wand under the table. The young man who had been flirting with Narcissa suddenly started coughing violently and people rushed over to pad him on the back. Apparently he had been eating his muffin too hastily and was now choking on a rather large bit. The blond boy leaned back in his chair and smiled contently. His wand had disappeared.
"We've been having some fun over at the crossroad", Avery answered his question.
"You know that your little trick with the traffic light is even more fun when you do it on a larger street? Some of those busses need surprisingly long to come to a halt."
The others sniggered nastily. Snape kept his face down, pretending to read the book, but his eyes didn't move.
"Oh, and remember that spell Rastaban told me about? Serpensortia? That one is hilarious when you use it for turning an old lady's walking stick into a snake."
Avery pounded his fist on the table, shaking with laughter at the memory.
McNair, who seemingly didn't want to stand back, added:
"But the best thing was when we found this group of retards on a daytrip. For the half that could walk normally we used the leg-locker curse and for the ones that had trouble using their legs we decided on "Tarantallegra". I think one of the nurses was very close to a heart attack."
The whole table was roaring with laughter now. Tears were running down Bellatrix' face and she looked decidedly more attractive when her mouth was not curved down and pressed into a thin line of disapproval. Snape's lips curved upwards ever so slightly at the sight of his friends in fits of laughter.
Finally Crabbe came jogging along the street and joined them, a little out of breath.
"What's so funny?" he asked panting. "I would have been here earlier, but there has been a series of accidents over at the crossroad. I think one of those Lorries was transporting something poisonous, because when I came by there were people on the ground, struggling and twitching. Naturally I took a side street then and that's why it took a little longer to get here. What?"
He stared at his classmates and friends with a deep questioning frown on his forehead as they were giggling helplessly. Even Snape had joined in by now.
"We'll explain it on the way back", he got out between fits of laughter as they moved out of their chairs and headed back towards the crowded street.
"Are you guys ready to run?" Bellatrix asked, trying to regain control over her voice by pressing her hands into her sides.
"Sure", the others nodded. "Why?"
"Because we didn't pay", she yelled over her shoulder, already halfway down the street and on her way back towards the park.
A hasty glance back told Snape that the waitress had noticed as well, because she was gesturing towards someone inside the building with an angry grimace. Seconds later a broad-shouldered Muggle in black jeans and a black shirt came stampeding through the door, murder in his eyes. Lucius caught the younger boy by the collar and stormed off with him, following a still chuckling Narcissa.
Clumsily Snape pulled out his wand from his pocket, tried to aim in spite of the jerky movements he was forced to make and shouted "Tarantallegra!" The spell missed the muscle-Muggle, bounced off a street lamp and hit an elderly gentleman walking his Doberman. Both dog and owner obviously were affected for they started dancing something that looked remarkably like quickstep across the street – and into their pursuer's path. The crash was spectacular and stopped the angry man as effectively as a direct hit would have done. Maybe even more so. By the look of it the Doberman had decided that the black-clad guy was the reason for its uncomfortable situation and had got a hold of his leg.
"You learn pretty fast", panted Lucius as they kept on running back the way they had come from.
Snape grinned proudly and overtook the older boy, catching up with the others first. They smacked him on the shoulder approvingly and even Bellatrix shot him a rare smile.
"Let's get back", she got out between deep intakes of breath. "And let's hope that Andromeda rejoins us in time."
They crossed the park in a much better mood than on their way into the city centre and by the time they had reached the dead end street again Andromeda had re-appeared in their midst. The others didn't say anything, but Snape gave her a wicked smile and blinked. She returned the smile, a little confused.
From the looks on their faces Harry could guess that the members of the Order didn't think this encounter funny in the least. Mrs. Weasley frowned disapprovingly and Deadalus Diggle shook his head slowly. Lupin sat motionless at the table, his expression unreadable. Only Tonks seemed to be still very comfortable, probably revelling in the sight of her mother being so young and happy and in love.
Harry glanced over at Ron who was trying not to show his amusement as he had obviously set his mind on disapproving with anything Snape had ever been part of. Hermione looked seriously appalled.
"Come on, Fred and George have pulled pranks like that as well. Don't you remember their experiments on the first years last term? With the Canary Creams and all that stuff?" he whispered in her ear. She shot him a shocked look.
"Nobody got hurt by that, Harry", she whispered back and the discussion was closed. She had a point, he had to admit.
Back in the alley the girls changed first, the boys blocking them from view. After he and Lucius had changed back into their robes as well, Snape gave his Muggle-clothes a closer look. He frowned at the stains near the wrist and on the leg.
"Lucius, will your parents be angry? I swear the stains were there before, I didn't do anything, really."
"Relax, Severus, the stains were already there before. Do you think Muggles just give away good clothes ", he sneered at the last words, "just like that? They need to be persuaded, and sometimes they don't like that. Just throw them into the dustbin; we are not taking them back anyway. Father will surely organise something else after the next … meeting."
Snape didn't look reassured but kept glancing at the stains, running his hand over them.
"Do you mean that's blood?" he whispered, careful not to alert the others.
"Does it matter?" Lucius asked back and turned his back on him, closing the buckles on his boots. Snape was just opening his mouth to ask another question when Bellatrix' impatient voice told them to hurry up, she didn't have all day. Lucius rolled his eyes and ran off.
Slowly a very confused dark-haired, hook-nosed boy folded up his bundle of clothes, lifted the lid of the nearest dustbin and was just about to put the bundle in when a movement inside the container caught his eye. One of the slices of orange peel trembled and slid to the side, revealing a furry little ear. The noise coming from underneath the rubbish sounded like a baby crying.
Hastily the boy pushed the peels, leaves and tins away, exposing a very dirty little kitten.
"Severus, now!"
Lucius sounded more than impatient. With one last unsure look he pulled the filthy cat out and closed the lid. He placed the tiny animal safely inside his pocket and hurried to join the others. The Muggle-clothes with the mysterious blood-coloured stains lay forgotten on the ground.