Chapter 53
"But... but how could you be her father?!?" Hermione asked, staring at Snape, her eyes wide with shock.
Snape folded his arms over his chest. "I went to school with Potter's parents, so why is it so shocking that I have a daughter of around the same age?"
"But... for her to be yours, that means that you..." She trailed off, her cheeks blushing.
He rolled his eyes, "You didn't honestly think I was a virgin, did you? For your information I've been with a number of women in my life, though I was smart enough to take care of protection myself after that night. I was a bit surprised you made it all the way to seventeen a virgin in today's society to be quite frank."
Her blush deepened, "That's not what I meant! I had no illusions that you had never been with anyone before..." She said, sounding flustered, "But... she was a married woman!"
He sighed, "Well I didn't know that at the time. I wasn't very active in the social circles and I certainly didn't think married women would have attended such a gathering. Lucius required me to partake of the 'festivities' with at least one woman that night. She just happened to be the one I picked. Of course if I had known, and had known who her husband was, I might still have done it. I had met the man. There was no question in my mind that any wife of his would be in desperate need of some 'attention'. And of course I had no idea until afterwards that Lucius had mucked about with their charms."
She folded her arms over her chest. "He 'required' you to shag someone?" She asked incredulously.
He smirked, "You obviously haven't spent much time around Lucius. Probably a very good thing. Yes, he required it." He sighed, the amusement leaving his face, "The more I think about it, the more I believe Lucius intended for me to father a child with Breanna all along. Probably made very sure all the other men that were with her had their own contraceptive charms. He brought her over with him when he came to talk to me that night. Then he conveniently had to go attend to 'host duties' and left her there with me. My family and hers have no previous links. Pansy is 'clean blood', while remaining a pureblood. Then of course there were no familial ties between Draco and Pansy... I truly believe he intended for them to marry from the beginning. Some of the pureblood families have started becoming quite inbred, more and more squibs being born as a result. Having his heir marry such 'clean blood' would insure the prosperity of his descendants, and the continued dominance of the Malfoy line. The contracts he made with the parents of the other girls were most likely just a way for him to get a bit of free, completely legal sadistic enjoyment."
Hermione dropped her eyes thoughtfully, mulling that over. It was hard to believe anyone could be so callous and completely unconcerned with the impact of their meddling in other people's lives... let alone so blatantly sadistic! But then again, it was getting to the point where she'd believe Lucius Malfoy capable of just about anything.
Snape sighed, going over and sitting down in the armchair near the fireplace. "I know this can't be easy for you to digest. Hell, I'm still in shock and I at least had the notion it was a possibility. I... will understand if you wish to discontinue our relationship." he said softly, staring into the fire sadly.
Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. She went over, crawling into the chair with him and settling on his lap, her legs straddling him. She slipped her arms around his neck and leaned forward, kissing him tenderly. When she broke the kiss, she let out a little sigh, cuddling up to him and resting her cheek against his shoulder. "I'm not letting you go that easily..." She said softly as he held her to him, the tension draining from him in relief. He stroked his hand down her back, making her smile against him and cuddle up more. She loved when he did that.
"So you'll be ok with it?"
"Guess I'll have to be, won't I? I'm sorry... I didn't mean to react like that... I think it's great that you have a daughter, and she finally has a father who will actually care about her... it's just... I mean our children will be younger than your grandchildren! That just seems so..." her voice died in her throat and she turned beet red as she suddenly realized she had just made a number of rather large assumptions. "I mean... um... if we... and you wanted to... um..." She stammered, pulling back some.
Snape had a warm smile on his face, "Yes... I suppose they will." He said softly.
She grinned bashfully. He pulled her back to him, holding her tightly. They held eachother for a few minutes, content just to be together.
"You know..." He said softly after a time, "If we get married..."
Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of those words coming from his mouth.
"And of course eventually I have no doubt Blaise will find some way to make his relationship with Pansy and Ron legal... that will make you Ron's step-mother-in-law..."
Hermione let out a laugh. "Oh my God! I'd be grandma Snape!"
"And what a lovely grandmother you will make..." He said with a smirk, kissing her again.
She sighed happily, leaning into the kiss.
They suddenly broke apart as the door to his room opened.
"At it again? Well break it up. Who knows when Blaise might be looking." Draco said, going over and sitting on the end of the bed with a smirk on his face.
Snape rolled his eyes, "That's a disturbing thought." He said with a smirk, "And you forgot to knock again."
"Just bringing you your invitations..." He said, pulling out two envelopes and tossing them on the bed, "Unless of course you want to get ripped apart by the creatures the Zabini's have roaming their grounds. One should cover you both technically, but I brought two just to be on the safe side. Carry them on your person."
They looked over as there was a slight clearing of a throat at the door. Dumbledore was standing in the doorway, having followed Draco unnoticed. He closed the door behind him so no one else would see in. Hermione blushed again, slipping off of Snape and standing by his chair awkwardly.
"No need to get up on my account." Dumbledore said with a warm smile, "I just thought you might like to know that the students taking the Hogwarts Express will be leaving shortly. I thought you might wish to see your students off, Severus."
"Of course." Snape said, nodding his head and rising.
"How are you getting to Zabini Manor for the wedding?" Draco asked curiously.
"Haven't decided actually." Snape said thoughtfully, "If all else fails, we could always take the Knight bus I suppose." He looked very reluctant to even consider that, obviously having used it before.
"Why not just apparate?" Hermione asked.
Snape looked over at her, "You have a license?" he asked, surprised.
She nodded. "Dumbledore was able to pull some strings to let me take my test before start of term. They didn't owl me my license until after my birthday of course, but I have it now."
He grinned, "Well that settles that I guess."
Dumbledore nodded, smiling, "Excellent. The three of us can go together then. I trust you will be able to fend for yourselves until then?" He asked, his eyes twinkling.
"I daresay we will manage." Snape replied with a smile.
Draco gave a snort, "I bet..." He said, getting up and walking over, coming to a stop in front of Hermione and digging in his pocket. He then took ahold of Hermione's hand and placed something in it. "Pansy said you could have this. She won't be needing it."
Hermione opened her hand and stared down at the tiny flying bird charm on the thin white gold chain that lay on her palm. She blushed bright red as she realized what it was. "Oh... um... thanks..." She said faintly, quickly tucking it away in her pocket, embarrassed.
"Put it on. It does no good in your pocket." He said mirthfully. "Well, it looks like it'll be staying in the family at least." He said, smirking at her wickedly, making her blush deepen still more. Then his eyes darted over, "That reminds me... what was with that line? How are you two related?"
Snape looked at Dumbledore, "I intended to ask the same question actually. I've seen my family tree all the way back to it's magical beginnings. There were no Dumbledores in it. I even have the most recent half dozen or so generations memorized, and that line was far too thick to be further than that... in fact I would say there was no more than perhaps four or five degrees of separation... how is that possible?"
"I think perhaps this is a discussion best left for some other time, Severus." Dumbledore said softly, actually looking a bit embarrassed.
"It was Sylvia, wasn't it?"
Dumbledore let out a sigh, "Darien..." he said in exasperation.
Draco chuckled, his eyes definitely darkening, "Told you she had it bad for you, Alby!"
Snape's eyes had gone wide, "Please tell me you're not referring to Sylvia Reynolds."
Draco smirked, "None other. Sweetest little Slytherin there was. She and Alby had quite a little unrequited love going since fourth year... my guess is, it didn't stay unrequited..."
Dumbledore's eyes had dropped and he looked more uncomfortable than Snape had ever seen him. He sighed, then forced his gaze up to meet Snape's. "Sylvia was a lovely, talented and vivacious young woman. I had never met someone so full of life. I was still quite young and foolish back then... I knew she had an arranged marriage, one she fully intended to fulfill to help her family through very difficult financial times... but I still fell in love with her." He said with a sad sigh, "She was to be married shortly after graduation, and we had both come to terms with the fact that we could never be together... but her last night at Hogwarts... well, I'm sure by this point you can guess what happened. The man she married never knew the child was not his own."
Snape was holding the back of his chair, staring at Dumbledore with open shock. "But that would make you..."
"Your real great great grandfather. Yes." Dumbledore said softly.
Snape abruptly sat back down, looking completely stunned.
"My first year teaching at Hogwarts I found my own son in my class. He was, of course, a Snape and a Slytherin, and therefor despised me because of the difference of political and social views of the Snape and Dumbledore families... Sylvia died the summer before his seventh year. I had to watching his pain for an entire year, unable to comfort him, and at the same time mourning her loss myself while trying to hide it from others. That was without a doubt the most difficult experience of my life."
"That's why you trusted me..." Snape said softly, "Why you wouldn't give up on trying to win me back from the Dark Lord's ranks..."
Dumbledore gave him a little smile, "Call it vanity, but I refused to believe that a descendant of mine could be completely without redeeming qualities... even if he doesn't want to admit it. Though, admittedly, your father cast quite a bit of doubt on that theory. Still, I had watched you all through your schooling. I knew your father had already begun training you in the dark arts... saw your reclusive nature and your social strife... I knew what it was that you were fighting against, what hurtles stood in your way... and I watched you, saw how you dealt with it all. Whenever I began to lose hope, you would do something when you thought no one was looking that would renew it. In fact, you were the first I had ever felt I could approach. You have no idea what it meant to me the first time you called me your friend..."
Snape looked up at him sharply, "And yet you never felt that I deserved to know who you were?"
Dumbledore sighed, "It was for your own protection, Severus. What would happen if Voldemort should ever find this out? You may be very talented in Occlumency, but no one is perfect. If you knew, there was always the chance that he could steal the knowledge from your mind in a moment of distraction. He may value you, but he would kill you in a heartbeat if he felt it would hurt me."
Snape sighed, his eyes dropping. Try as he might, he couldn't refute that.
"Well," Dumbledore said softly, "We should continue this discussion later. For now, I believe your students are expecting you..."
---------------
"What's with Snape?" Ginny asked, eyeing him, "He seems a bit... off."
Hermione shifted uneasily, then shrugged.
Ginny eyed her, then leaned closer. "You didn't dump him again, did you?" She asked sternly, keeping her voice carefully low enough not to carry.
Hermione's eyes went wide. "Just how many people know about that?" She whispered back exasperatedly.
"A few. Did you?" Ginny continued doggedly, her eyes narrowing.
Hermione rolled her eyes, "No!" She hissed.
Ginny's expression brightened and she smiled. "Ok then. Just checking."
Hermione stared at her in shock. "You... you're ok with... um... us?"
Ginny grinned. "I wasn't at first, and I found out on my own by the way, but when I asked Draco about it he explained it a bit more... and seeing how Snape was when you were laying there without a soul..." She shrugged, "Guess I've just gotten used to the idea."
They fell silent as Ron walked over, dropping his bag on a nearby couch. "You sure you don't want to take the train?" He asked worriedly.
Ginny grinned. "I'm sure. Draco has the trip all planned out and I wouldn't miss it. Don't worry. Harry will be with us."
Ron sighed, "Ok... just be careful. There's too bloody many Death Eaters out there for me to be comfortable with you out of my sight."
She grinned. His overprotectiveness might have irritated her once, but now that he'd eased off a bit she found it endearing. She stood up, giving him a hug, "We'll probably be getting there about the same time as you guys do, so you'll barely even notice the difference!"
He hugged her back gently. The strength he'd gotten from Blaise hadn't increased any more, despite the fact that they had spent the whole night together, finding ways to amuse themselves since they were still unable to sleep, but if it was ebbing, it was very slowly. Snape had assured them it would start to recede before too much longer. He was relieved to hear that, but at the same time felt like he was going to miss it when it was gone. It had felt rather nicer than he'd care to admit pinning Sulla Parkinson to the wall, knowing full well he could kill him in a heartbeat if he so desired.
Still... without the strength they would finally be able to shag Pansy again. The looks Blaise had been giving her had been heartbreaking. This was probably the longest he'd gone without shagging her since they started sharing a room, and it was pretty obvious that it was getting rather difficult for him to handle, despite Ron's efforts to distract him. Pansy hadn't shown any signs of increased strength from shagging Blaise before they found out it wasn't a good idea... they hoped that just meant he hadn't started passing it on yet, but the nagging worry was still there.
Blaise came up behind Ron, slipping his arms around his waist and resting his chin on Ron's shoulder. He was just the perfect height to do that, despite being slightly shorter than Ron, and had taken a liking to holding him like that. Ron grinned, hugging Blaise's arms to his stomach. He'd rather taken a liking to it as well.
"We all ready? Where's your bag Gin?"
Ginny grinned and grabbed up her bag, holding it out. Ron took it and tossed it over with his, furrowing his brow. "I'm not complaining, but why can't you take your bags yourself?"
Ginny grinned, "It's just easier this way, trust me."
"Hey Granger," Blaise said before Ron could question Ginny further, "Make sure you get there well before the ceremony. You still have to be fitted for your dress robes."
"What?" Hermione asked, surprised.
Blaise smirked, "You're the Maid of Honor. You can't expect Narcissa Malfoy to let you come up with your own outfit." Blaise flinched, barely catching a bag that was tossed at him before it could hit him in the side.
"Black." Draco said mirthfully, "How many times do I have to tell you that? You call my mum a Malfoy and she's likely to curse you. She's very proud of that little piece of paper. The bloody Ministry did something she agreed with for once."
Blaise chuckled, tossing Draco's bag over with the others. "I'll try to remember."
Draco looked over at Hermione, "And he's serious about being there early. Diamond is amazingly quick, but she's already running around like a blue arsed fly trying to get everything ready. She's insisting on making clothing for everyone attending the wedding so they'll match. Slow her up and she just may chew you out."
Hermione smirked, "This 'Diamond' another relative?"
Draco chuckled, "In a manner of speaking. Mum's house elf actually."
Hermione blinked, shocked, "A house elf would chew me out?"
Draco furrowed his brow, "Only if you're late. Not planning it are you?"
Hermione blinked again, "No... I just..." She fell silent, not knowing what else to say. She was stunned he spoke of a house elf chewing people out as if it happened every day. The Malfoy elves were a timid, tortured and abused lot, weren't they?
"That reminds me..." Blaise said, cuddling up to Ron again, "This little Diamond sounds adorable. We've really got to introduce her to Vincent. He's mine. Always wondered why he never seemed to be around... accidentally wondered into one of the unused suites last summer... apparently that's where he'd been holing up. Seems he found my grandmother's old paint set and took a liking to it. He paints. A LOT. Personally, I think he's quite good at it too. Thank Merlin father never found out." He said, grinning.
Draco smirked, "Maybe we should introduce them."
Ron grinned, "Is that why we had to stop by that little paint supply shop in Hogsmeade? Never even knew that was there..."
Blaise grinned, "Grandmother tried painting as a hobby, but tired of it in about a week. She had an impressive setup but it wasn't much more than a starter set. And when Vincent ran out of canvases he started using bed sheets and tea cozies over old window frames! I can only imagine what he'll do with proper supplies that aren't cobbled together or falling apart... and I even got him some of the special potion that makes the portraits move. He's been doing the still, muggle-like paintings so far. Had it all delivered. Can't wait to see his face..."
"Time to head out." Snape said loudly to the Slytherins that were still milling about in the Common room. He then made his way over to them, "You're sure the invitations are all we'll need to get to the Manor?" He asked Blaise cautiously.
Blaise grinned, "Spelled them myself. They will get you onto the grounds, ward off all of father's little 'pets', and allow you to enter one of the coaches. The couch will take you to the Manor. I wouldn't suggest you linger about sight seeing on the way in though. The spell is limited and will probably use itself up within an hour or two of being activated by entering the grounds. We have some more stable charms there in case you should desire to wander the grounds during your stay, but those deactivate if taken off my land. Wouldn't do to have long lasting keys out where anyone could get them."
"You sent some to my parents, right?" Ginny asked.
Blaise grinned. "Your mum's already there. Your dad will be there after work, so probably a couple hours before us. Mum owled me this morning. She and Narcissa took the liberty of telling them so they could get all of the Ministry's bloody paperwork out of the way."
Ginny's eyes went round, "And they were ok with it?"
"Both of them?" Draco added.
Blaise grinned. "Well, they both signed, and that's all that really matters, right?"
Draco sighed. Not like he expected open arms from Arthur Weasley, but he'd hoped to achieve at least grudging acceptance. Molly had most likely badgered him into signing against his will.
"Don't sweat it." Fred said, coming over and giving Draco a good-natured slap on the back.
"Dad will come around." George said, coming up on his other side.
"Eventually."
"May take some time..."
"Just give it a decade.."
"Maybe two."
Draco grinned ruefully, "I'm getting that feeling..." He said, then looked over as Kulia took a seat next to the bags. "How you doing?"
She sagged back against the back of the couch, looking a bit worse for wear. "I'm starting to figure out why Snow Elves are an endangered species..." She said miserably.
"Buck up, Snowflake. It'll probably pass in a month or two..." Draco said with a mischievous smirk.
"Bog off Little Dragon." she muttered irritably.
Draco just grinned, patting the Twins on the back, "Good luck, boys. I have a feeling you'll need it."
---------------
"I really wish I could be there." Goyle sighed sadly.
Draco grinned, "It's such short notice we didn't really expect people to come. We're thinking about having a get together this summer that will be like a delayed reception so more of our friends and family can attend."
Goyle brightened, "I'll definitely be there then."
Draco grinned and nodded, "I'll get you an invitation once things are finalized."
Goyle grinned at him, letting out a sigh, shaking his head in disbelief, "I still can't believe you're getting married!"
Draco smirked, "I know... still kind of shocking for me too. But in a good way of course!"
Goyle's eyes widened, "We didn't get to give you a bachelor's party! You didn't even get to have one last fling!"
Draco chuckled, "I tell you what, when we get back from holiday, you and the other boys can get together and gather up every loose female you can and throw me the biggest bachelor's party in history... have a blast! I'll be in my room shagging Ginny!" He said with a wicked grin, "She can be my last fling and my wife all in one. Can't beat that!"
Goyle rolled his eyes, "That was about the sappiest thing I've ever heard you utter!" he said mirthfully, "But I'll take you up on the bachelor's party!" Then he leaned close with a smirk, "I heard Pansy's mum's getting divorced...?"
Draco grinned and nodded. They hadn't really told anyone about the reasoning behind it other than she was a bit miffed at him for trying to murder the grandkids. So far, only those who had been in the room (and Harry and Hermione of course) knew. Snape was still deciding how to, or even if they even should break the news to the others.
Goyle glanced over to make sure Pansy wasn't close enough to hear, then shifted a bit closer, dropping his voice, "She's a bit of alright for a mum... and I heard Pansy takes after her... Think she'd come to the bachelor's party if I invited her?" he asked with a mischievous grin.
Draco let out a laugh, then quickly tried to stifle his amusement as Pansy glanced over. He just smiled at her innocently and she went back to her conversation. "She just might." He said in a near whisper. "Feel free to give it a try. Just don't don't let Pansy catch wind of it!"
"Gotcha." Goyle said, giving his back a friendly clap. "Good luck with the whole ball and chain thing!"
Draco rolled his eyes as Goyle headed off. He glanced over, spotting Harry making his way through the crowd with his bag over his shoulder. It wasn't difficult to spot him really... everyone was scurrying out of his way as if he had the plague. From the way he was studiously not looking at them, his jaw set, Draco could tell he was seething over the treatment.
"I thought you said we weren't going with them." Harry said as he came to a stop beside Draco, glaring around at the whispering students that were all staring at him.
"We aren't... Hey Ron!" Draco called over.
Ron saw them and came over. "About time. They're gonna start yelling at us in a minute if we don't get out there!" Ron said, holding out his hand to Harry.
Harry furrowed his brow, but caught on, handing Ron his bag.
"See you there!" Ron said with a grin, slinging the bag over his shoulder as if it was nothing, though he was already carrying several. "Just be careful!"
Draco grinned, "We will."
Ron grinned and nodded, heading out. Ginny finished up her conversation with Pansy and came over, slipping her arm in his as they waved goodbye to the departing students. Hermione came over to stand on Ginny's other side, waving as well. Kulia had taken to wearing the cloak and face cloth again, lurking behind Fred and George, who had become the center of attention the moment they had walked out into the Entrance Hall. The students were so excited to see them again that they hardly even paid attention to Kulia.
They stopped waving as the last of the students exited.
"What was that about then? Why can't I take my own bag?" Harry asked.
Draco rolled his eyes. "I just prefer traveling light, ok?"
"Ok then, where to now?" Harry asked, seeing Draco wasn't planning on being much more forthcoming.
"Now, we go back to the Dungeon. You can go back to your room. I'll come and get you when we're ready to go."
Harry rolled his eyes, "Yes master!" He said in a sarcastic mock of the demon. He felt it prod him irritably and smirked. Draco, for his part, ignored him entirely.
They started off as Hermione waited for Snape, who had gone out to see the other students to the coaches. She looked over as Draco suddenly paused, the others going on, not noticing he had stopped. After a moment he let out a belabored sigh and reached into his robe. He pulled out an envelope, holding it out to the side of him and dropping it very purposefully, then continued on his way.
Hermione furrowed her brow, wondering what that was all about. Was he expecting her to retrieve the envelope? Then she spotted movement. Dobby was peeking out from behind a suit of armor, watching Draco go. Once Draco was a few meters from the envelope, Dobby scurried out, picking it up. He clutched it to his chest and took a deep breath, sighing it out happily. Now that it was up where she could see it better, she realized it was an invitation to the wedding.
"Try to free your family and I'll kick your little arse!" Draco called over his shoulder without so much as turning his head, then disappeared down the stairs.
Dobby dropped his ears back, grinning widely as he stroked the envelope as if it were the most precious thing in existence.
"Dobby?" Hermione asked, trying to get over her surprise. She walked over to him. "You aren't actually planning on going, are you?"
His tennis ball sized eyes stared up at her defiantly and he clutched the envelope tighter, "Dobby is having an invitation! Dobby is allowed!"
"I never said you weren't allowed... I just... why would you want to go? I thought you hated the Malfoys!" She said uncomprehendingly.
"Dobby is not hating all of the Malfoys..." Dobby said, his ears pressed down, his huge eyes now fixed on the floor.
Hermione blinked. She had thought he hated everything about the Malfoys! "But... didn't they mistreat you?"
Dobby looked up at her hesitantly, trembling slightly. "Master was very... strict..."
"You mean Lucius?"
Dobby flinched at the sound of the name, but nodded hesitantly.
"But Draco... he didn't hurt you?"
Dobby looked thoughtful. "Draco is not hurting Dobby much."
"Much?" Hermione asked indignantly, "He shouldn't have been hurting you at all!"
Dobby flinched down a bit more. "Dobby is deserving it!" He said defensively.
Hermione folded her arms across her chest. "And just how did you 'deserve' getting hurt?"
Dobby shifted around uneasily. "Dobby is failing little master." He said morosely. "Little master is right to be angry at Dobby. Dobby is not minding when little master is throwing things at him and yelling at him. Dobby is deserving it..." He said very sadly, scurrying off before she could question him further.
Hermione just furrowed her brow at the puzzling explanation.
"You'll not be able to change his mind on the subject."
Hermione looked over, seeing Snape walking towards her, obviously having heard her little conversation with Dobby. "Do you know why he thinks he deserved beatings then?" She asked, a bit exasperated by her seeming inability to raise the house elf's feelings of self worth.
Snape came to a stop, folding his arms over his chest and watched at Dobby scampered out of sight. "Dobby used to be Draco's. He raised Draco in fact. Since he was a baby, Dobby cared for him, kind of like a nanny."
Hermione's eyes went round. She should have figured that some of those rich families with house elves would have them look after their children so they wouldn't have to be bothered with them... she just hadn't ever really thought about it. "But then why would Draco want to hurt him?"
"As Dobby said, he failed Draco. Failed to protect him as he always promised him he would." Snape said somberly.
"Failed to protect him against what?" She asked, shocked.
"The one thing no house elf can ever protect his charge against. The Master of the house." Snape said dryly, turning and walking slowly back towards the Dungeon.
Hermione fell into step beside him. "Draco blamed Dobby for something his father did?"
Snape sighed and nodded. "Since he was a child. He felt betrayed every time Dobby allowed his father to hurt him. It may not be fair, but in the mind of a child, the blame sometimes gets misplaced. He couldn't retaliate against his father, so he turned his anger towards the one who he felt should have protected him... yet had abandoned him in his time of greatest need. I believe Draco knows full well now that it was not truly Dobby's fault, and that it was wrong to take it out on him... but childhood trauma can be very hard to overcome. I'm just glad to see he's making an effort."
"So Dobby gets yelled at and things thrown at him just because Draco got spanked?" Hermione said indignantly.
Snape stopped and turned towards her, folding his arms over his chest once again, "I don't think you are getting the true scope here. Let me give you an example that I, myself witnessed. Dobby showed up in my home one night during early summer after Draco's first year at Hogwarts. He knew I was fond of the boy and didn't know to whom else he could turn. He took me back to Malfoy Manor... back to the woods that lay behind it. There is a clearing within it that Lucius has set up for rituals. There, dangling from the chains on the sacrificial alter, was Draco. He was naked, hypothermic, and beaten to within a hair breadth of death... quite literally. Lucius told him it was because he'd lost the house cup... truth be told, he'd just got mullered and wanted to beat someone... Draco just happened to be the only one around. Lucius then, in a bout of malicious spite, forbade Dobby to take Draco down or care for him in any way. If he'd been left there until Lucius had slept it off he would most certainly have died. It was a very close thing as it was. He spent over a week in St. Mungo's, most of it unconscious. Draco refused to take Dobby back after that, since Dobby had stood by and allowed it to happen, refusing to even cut him down when he begged him to before losing consciousness. That's how Dobby became Lucius' to do with as he pleased."
Hermione was staring at him in open shock and horror, her hand over her mouth. "He... he would do that to his own son?"
Snape gave a snort, "I thought you had his number by now. He'd do that to his own mother! As a matter of fact, they never did find out what happened to her, and I definitely wouldn't rule out that possibility..." He turned and started walking again, "I'm afraid the sense of betrayal the children of the affluent feel towards their house elves is quite prevalent. It usually leads to adulthood animosity towards them and the desire to hurt and mistreat them for perceived failings. The house elves themselves are pained by this failing just as keenly as the children they are forced to fail. It's one of the reasons they so readily accept their lot in life. They feel they deserve no better for their failings, and try to make up for it the rest of their lives, often passing the burden of guilty disguised as pride in their ability to serve to their children. If you're so determined to improve the house elves' lot, Hermione, you're going to have to get rid of abusive parents first. Good luck."
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A/N - Sorry, not quite as long, but I think the next scene would make it too long, and besides, it's nearly 2 am again and once again I only have a couple of hours left I can sleep before work... I'm feeling too lazy to look an see exactly who asked about this stuff, so if you're looking for an answer to your question I'm afraid you'll have to wade through!
For those of you who asked if the line was to Hermione, she wasn't in the room. Besides, being muggleborn, she wouldn't have had any links to members of the wizarding world unless she was pregnant, and she is NOT! If she was it would have had to be Harry/The demon that got her that way or she would have noticed sooner if it had happened before since she was going out with Harry for a while and then was alone for a while, then a veggie, and has hardly had any time back with Snape yet. They aren't rabbits people! ;) Besides, it would be hard to keep their relationship a secret if she was waddling around with a huge belly, now wouldn't it? Not to mention that she is far too smart a girl to let that kind of thing happen on accident. She would be sure to cast the proper spells every time.
As for the electricity not working around magic, that is pure J.K. They have even made mention of it in the movies. Notice in HP3-POA the lights and such went haywire when Harry was getting pissed and blowing up his aunt? And then the street light flickered out when Sirius came up in dog form on the street. Colin's camera is an old style manual camera. It is not electronic. I question whether or not it should really have a flash, but that's not exactly high tech either, and all of the other camera's in the wizarding world seem to have them as well, so I guess it slides. Oh, and my theory on why watches work there is that they are using either winding watches or more likely Quartz watches, which work off of the quartz crystal's power so should be compatible with magic.
To the one who asked, Pansy has not been described well in the books, I'm not absolutely sure, but I could have sworn they once made reference to her as a blonde. If you hadn't noticed, I have been very careful about not putting in anything about how she looks at all. That way you can imagine her any way you want... but if I remembered the blond thing correctly, Snape would have had to have a recessive blonde gene to pass on, which is why I said that, but I didn't directly say she had the same color hair as his mother. He just said she looked a lot like her. I tried looking and all I saw in book one was that she was "hard-faced" but that could just mean she was being a bit pissy at that moment or something (shrugs) In book two I saw a reference to her being pug-nosed, and I know I've seen that reference more than once, but I think they are exaggerating a slight upturning of her nose. They obviously don't like her, so I doubt they were very charitable in their descriptions, and the whole thing is in their viewpoint pretty much. I know the girl I believe they were insinuating was Pansy in the movies had bobbed black hair and a normal looking nose from what I saw (and right or wrong, I tend to think of her as having black hair, but I was covering my bases), but I think Dean Thomas was actually a black boy in the books as well, not the thin white boy they picked for the movie. And then there's Lee Jordan. If I remember correctly, in the books he's Fred & George's best friend, most definitely male, black with dreadlocks. He is also the announcer for the Quidditch matches. In the movie, he isn't mentioned, but there was a black GIRL with dreads announcing at the games. (shrugs) not to mention that Ron is supposed to be "tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose"; Petunia and Dudley Dursley are blondes; Harry is supposed to have brilliant green eyes, not blue; Draco is supposed to have pale steel gray eyes, not blue; and Hermione is supposed to have huge buck teeth up until book 4, and the list goes on. Point is, they cast them however they want for the lesser characters, and take liberties with the others for simplicity or whatnot. Admittedly I can't see them forcing Daniel Radcliff and Tom Felton to wear contacts through the filming of all of those movies. I doubt they'd care for it. If any of you have an actual reference for how she looks, please stick it in a review or an email! Otherwise, I will go on dodging descriptive words for her ;)
Lineage - where to begin? Well as they said in OOTP, most of the pureblood families are related since they only want to marry other purebloods, and they said specifically that Narcissa Malfoy was born Narcissa Black, Sirius' first cousin. Then they also said the Weasleys were on the Black family tree, but very distantly, which is why Mrs. Black kept shrieking about blood traitors in her house (of course she included Sirius in that assessment as well). Therefore, Draco is distantly related (through his mother) to the Weasleys. The link between him and Blaise, being of a thicker line would indicate a closer relationship. Possibly a third or fourth cousin or something of that nature. The fact that he was linked to Draco, but not to Ron or Ginny would indicate it was on Lucius' side and he did not directly share blood with the Weasleys. Of course the lines between Blaise and Ron and Pansy's stomach were self-explanatory. Fudge and Sulla were unrelated to anyone in the room (since that spell doesn't care about things that are merely paper, which would include marriage when no child had yet been produced between the couple. It shows only direct blood relation). Also, since I'm going with the 'family tree' kind of format, relationships were assumed to pass down to offspring without the need for additional lines. For example, Ron and Ginny are siblings, but there was no line between Ginny and the baby because her relationship to Ron was established, so her resultant relationship to the baby is assumed, and therefore a second link would have just been unnecessary clutter. Um... does that clear anything up?"