Disclaimer: Not Rowling, who said in a 2003 BBC interview that the Death Eaters were once called the Knights of Walpurgis. Jo said, "I don't know if I'll need it. But I like knowing it." I was glad to learn it, because the idea that sparked became a story.
Author's Note added November 2, 2007: The fic won a Mugglenet Quicksilver Quill award for Best Marauder Era Story.
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Chapter 1- Observations
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The crowd gathered on Platform nine and three quarters was subdued; a stark contrast to years past. Children that had once called out boisterous goodbyes to family they would not see again until Christmas holiday said quiet farewells. Parents, who had formerly encouraged their sons and daughters to study hard and owl regularly, now bid their loved ones to keep out of trouble and stay safe. One seventh year boy barely noticed the difference in atmosphere. His family had not changed.
Before leaving home, his father had cracked opened bleary eyes and smirked. "Remember not to let on that your old man's a common Muggle." Turning his head, Tobias Snape spat on the floor. "Don't make me more ashamed of you than I already am, Snivellus."
Indifferent, Severus had turned away from the cretin who had fertilised an egg and done nothing else of worth since. The seventeen-year-old gladly left the brick house that comprised the only inheritance Tobias could not piss away. It was not that his son ever desired to reside there. However, the entailment from his mother's family assured that she would always have a home, such as it was.
On the platform, he shook back memories along with long, black strands of hair. Looking at the woman who huddled into her coat beside him, Severus said, "Thank you for procuring those extra items I requested. I know the expense was prohibitive."
A half smile lifted the corner of his mother's pale lips. "I sold your father's gold timepiece." Her son caught a glimpse of the girl who had once dreamed of being a Potions Master in the satisfied expression. She reassured, "He will assume that he lost it. Do not worry on my account, Severus."
He wouldn't. Long ago, this shell of a witch had taught him the futility of trying to help those who refused to help themselves. Eileen Snape nee Prince had traded the honour of her pureblood family name for that of a Muggle. She had preferred to endure a shiftless, drunken spouse rather than to be alone. Her son felt a pitying contempt for the woman who bore him. She'd done her pitiable best to eke out the funds necessary to provide him with second-hand robes, uniforms, and the basic supplies required for school. His expression softened with faint gratitude.
"Goodbye, Severus."
They did not embrace. She did not kiss his cheek. Instead, her gaunt, prematurely aged features warmed almost imperceptibly. He inclined his head courteously. "Goodbye, Mother."
Although he no longer hunched his shoulders trying to minimize his height, Severus had never broken the habit of concealing his face with his hair. Pulling his trunk behind him, the boy made his way toward the Hogwarts Express. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched a red-haired girl hail her friends. The other girls greeted her animatedly.
"Lily!"
"How was your summer?"
"Let's go grab a compartment."
Revealing the Head Girl badge on her cloak, the girl's bright hair shook. "Save me a seat. I have to go to the Prefect Carriage." Smiling in the way that made her the most popular girl of her year, Lily Evans promised, "I'll find you as soon as my duties are over, and listen to all your stories about our favourite subject...boys!"
The silly twits laughed and rushed off to do their friend's bidding. Severus watched Lily as he'd done for years. She was everything he'd ever wanted in a girlfriend. Pretty, popular, and brilliant in Potions. If only she'd been Slytherin. He would've overlooked her parentage.
Behind the Head Girl, a boy with unruly black hair and a Head Boy badge on his cloak approached. He said with a confident grin, "Going my way, Evans?"
Severus imagined green eyes glinting with annoyance. She tossed her hair. "If you're going to the Prefect Carriage, then yes, Potter, technically I am."
"Did you hear that boys? Evans said she and Potter are going together! James, I never thought I'd live to see the day. I'm all choked up, really, I'm teary and everything." Sirius Black, Gryffindor's Casanova, clapped his pal on the shoulder.
He gave a bark of laughter when Lily said, unsmiling, "Grow up, Black."
Watching the girl walk off, the teen snickered. "Grow up and be Sirius? Can't be anything else, now can I?"
The silent observer noted Black's ragged denims, battered leather jacket and overlong hair. Somehow, he managed to look handsome and cool instead of impoverished and ashamed to be disowned. Something else Snape loathed him for. His lip curled while he viewed the Gryffindor gang.
Peter Pettigrew brayed with laughter. He was a rat-faced boy undoubtedly allowed to hang round in order to toady. Potter and Black seemed to enjoy his fawning. The fourth boy was Remus Lupin. He said nothing, as usual. He was probably too grateful that his friends accepted a werewolf into their magic circle.
Potter shoved Black's hand off his shoulder. "Does everything have to go into your brain and out your mouth, Sirius? Damn it, Evans was actually talking to me and you had to go and ruin it. Thanks a lot, I'll see you later."
The three left on the platform shrugged and headed for the train with their luggage. Severus felt the most charitable he ever had towards Black. That meant he didn't actively wish the other boy would pull a prank lethal to the prankster. Boarding the Express, the Slytherin didn't bother roaming the train looking for a place. The first compartment in the first carriage was always empty. It was supposed to be haunted by a seventh year couple who had died in a tragic romance suicide pact. Severus had never seen or heard any ghosts. He'd been content to enjoy the solitude since first year.
Placing his trunk in the storage compartment overhead, Severus took out a Daily Prophet. His rigidly correct posture was relaxed into a comfortable slouch. After sneering his way through several articles highlighting Ministry ineptitude, Snape deliberated whether or not to take a nap.
He looked up when he heard a whistle. The Hogwarts Express began to pull out of the station. The door to his compartment was abruptly slid open.
"Are you sure that you want this compartment, Miss?"
The porter rolled a trunk smelling of new leather into the space, banging the leg of its current occupant. Rubbing his abused shin, Severus contemptuously watched the man run a hand over his balding pate. Trying to smooth down the few strands combed across, the man beamed when he heard,
"Very sure. Thank you for holding the train."
Severus recognised the rich, smooth voice that reminded him of Firewhisky. It belonged to Eris Greyback. When she entered, he quickly pretended to read the paper. Covertly, he observed her. Dressed in a minidress and ridiculously high heels, the Slytherin girl looked as though she had come to the station from an all-night party.
When the porter left and she concealed a yawn, he was sure of it. The wealthy pureblood had most likely spent her entire holiday traipsing from one bacchanal to the next. Severus had done limited experiments in his cellar lab or lain in bed shooting flies down from the ceiling with his wand. Bitterness twisted his mouth. He did not help Greyback store her trunk or acknowledge her existence in any way.
"Merlin, I'm shattered. I have to get this gunk off so I can sleep."
Her throaty words held the hint of a slur. Was she drunk? His nostrils flared. No alcohol was detected. Surreptitiously, he stole a glance at her face. The pupils of dark blue eyes appeared normal. Severus turned slightly, watching her out of the corner of his eye. The girl took a cloth out of her silver bag and wiped her face, removing makeup.
She took down her hair and ran a brush over the brown strands. The teen was inexplicably reminded of a conversation he had overheard. At the end of the previous term, he had happened to read a book on the other side of a hedge from infernal Gryffindors. Inadvertently, Severus had eavesdropped on their discussion about girls.
"Look over there, Jamie-boy. The future Mrs. Potter is waiting for you to make a move."
"Yeah, right, Padfoot, make a move and get a hex is more like it."
A bark of laughter sounded. "You could always show her what she's missing, go for someone else."
Potter scoffed, "No girl in this school can compare to Lily and she knows it."
The unseen listener concurred that Lily was unique. He also grudgingly agreed when Black chuckled and said, "Eris Greyback could. She's tops in Transfiguration and Lily has to have heard what the boys say about them."
After a pause, four voices said laughingly, "Lily's the girl you want to take home to mother, and Eris is the girl you want to take to..."
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"Hey, Snape, you awake?" Eris had picked this compartment because everyone claimed it was haunted. She didn't mind sharing it. Six years of living in Slytherin house had accustomed her to tolerating a lot worse. Sitting across from her housemate, she leaned over to pull his newspaper down. "Not feeling any urges to make a suicide pact, are you?"
His thin lips twitched at the corners. "Hardly."
Feeling the effects of lack of sleep, she smiled. "Good, because I'm going to take this." Eris lifted the small vial she'd taken from her clutch. "I'll be dead to the world for two hours, so you're all that stands between me and any ghosts that show. Will you watch over me?"
Long, nimble fingers took the potion and lifted it up. "What is this? Elixir of Sleep? Bottled Dreams?" He uncorked the vial and sniffed, "Ah, Sleep Enhancer, home brewed. Did you add mint?"
That long nose was good for more than looking down at others superciliously. Impressed by the unusual boy's acuity with potions, Eris nodded. "Might as well have good breath when you wake up, right?"
"I suppose you go through cauldrons of this on holidays." Night black eyes were fathomless, but his tone carried a hint of a sneer. Eris smiled mysteriously. Snape frowned, and took his time answering her original question. While waiting, she became aware that he'd gone from skinny to lean over the summer.
"I will be here," he stated tonelessly.
She smiled ruefully. He sounded so enthusiastic. Oh well, at least he wouldn't be groping her while she was out. She drank the potion. Taking a handkerchief out of her clutch bag, Eris transfigured it into a pillow. Tucking it under her head, she curled up on the bench and within moments was fast asleep.
The girl awoke to the sound of a trolley rattling its way down the corridor. She blinked sleepily at the back of the seat. Sometime during her nap, she had turned over on the bench. Eris grimaced. Her skirt was so short that she was flashing her knickers. Sitting up, the girl shot a look at Snape. He was reading Advanced Potions-Making, ascetic features cool and composed. He was hardly the type to stare at a girl's arse. Relieved, she said thickly, "Did the trolley witch stop here?"
"No."
His gaze travelled over her for a moment before returning to his text. She didn't blame him for looking away. She was a rumpled mess. Smoothing her hair, Eris stood and stretched. "I'll be back in a little while." Snape made a non-committal sound. Slipping her feet into her shoes, she opened the compartment door.
She breathed a sigh of relief not to run into anyone on her way to the loo. Afterwards, the girl headed for the witch handing out chocolate frogs down the corridor. The frowsy woman pursed her lips at being hailed. "What do you want?"
"You didn't stop at my compartment, so I want to make my purchases now."
The witch drew herself up indignantly. "I never miss a compartment, never!"
"I'm in the first compartment, and you most certainly did."
The boys within craned their necks to see who was taking on the trolley witch. One, a seventh year Ravenclaw, said, "Hello, Eris. Go on and get whatever you need, we'll wait."
The witch operating the trolley barked, "As this lot doesn't mind, go on."
"Thank you." Removing several Galleons from her deceptively small silver clutch, Eris looked over the array on the trolley and began, "I'll have…."
She had to kick the glass panel with her foot to get Snape's attention. He looked up in annoyance before rising to slide the door open. Entering, she deposited the items piled in her arms onto the middle of the bench beside him, taking the empty seat next to the food.
Her companion lifted a brow. "Did you not eat as well as not sleep over holiday?"
Eris chose a sandwich, inwardly praising the stars that it was fresh. Cold, hard bread and limp salad were the worst. Tossing one onto Snape's lap, she admitted, "I haven't been eating properly, but half of this is for you."
"I did not ask…."
"I didn't say you did," she cut in before he could refuse. "You kept the ghosts at bay. I bought tea. We're even, all right?"
She wasn't the type that kept score, but she'd bet her silver snake ring that Snape was. He seemed proud to a fault, the kind that hated to be beholden to anyone. Eris held out a bottle of butterbeer. He slowly took it.
They ate their way through a mound of sandwiches, pastries, and sweets in companionable silence. Feeling sociable, Eris said, "Hey, Severus." His drawn brows and pursed lips impelled her to ask with a smile, "You don't mind if I call you Severus? That's your name, right?"
"Correct." Clearing away the assorted wrappers with a wave of his wand, he shrugged. "Since you seem bent on using it, regardless, I will endeavour not to mind."
"Kind of you," Eris deadpanned. She felt rewarded when his mouth curved briefly and invited, "Call me Eris."
"If you insist."
Laughing at herself for being glad that this strange boy wasn't trying to get off with her and yet piqued by his lack of interest, she asked, "Want to play a game?"
"No."
Trying not to pout, she took a deck of cards out of her clutch. Transfiguring the pillow into a black top hat, she set it upside down on the bench. Eris returned to the seat a short distance from her self-contained travelling companion. Opening the pack of cards, she took the one off the top of the deck. With a snap of her wrist, she tossed it toward the hat. It landed on the brim. The next card zipped across and landed in the top hat. She smiled exultantly and glanced at Severus. His lips twisted, but he refrained from comment. She picked out another card and sent it flying.
"How long are you going to continue that?"
Eris replied, "Until you play with me."
"Pass me a card." Snape flipped the card. It fluttered down onto the floor. Staring incredulously, the boy commanded, "Another." She handed him a card. His fingers were firm and cool. He tossed the second card. It landed on the seat. After half a dozen playing cards had flopped everywhere but into the open hat, he demanded, "Show me the trick."
She scooted over and handed him a card. "It's in the wrist. You've got to snap it just right. Like this." Taking his hand in hers, she showed him the proper angle. He stiffened, staring pointedly at her hand. She let it drop and edged away. Eris refused to apologise for her cheek or whatever else Mr. Touch-Me-Not would call it. "Got it now?"
"Yes." His next attempt was successful. So was the next one, and the one after that. Taking the deck from her, Severus flicked the cards into the hat with rapid-fire precision. "There, I've played."
Eris smirked. "You haven't played with me."
Intimidating brows drew together. After considering her levelly for several moments, he asked, "What did you have in mind?"
She instructed, "Up to the ceiling, over to the window, off the back cushions, and into the hat, no touching the brim." Eris and her opponent had progressed from flicking cards without magic to using their wands to assist in greater challenges. Eris noticed the card in Severus' hand. A shiver jittered down her spine.
He said with narrowed eyes, "What's wrong?"
With effort, she responded lightly, "Nothing, it's just that your card is the Knave of Spades. It indicates a dark young man, possibly troubled, who dislikes the questioner." When he stared without speaking, she asked, "Do you dislike me?"
It was hard to decide what was more jolting. The relief she felt when Snape immediately said 'no', or the startle she got when the door was suddenly thrust open. Her brother strode into the compartment fuming, "Look at you! I've been searching the train for hours, and you're playing card games! Where have you been these last weeks Eris? I covered for you, but Father was suspicious. If you keep this up--"
"Don't waste your breath on threats, Erik. I didn't feel like hanging around, so I took a trip, end of story," she said hurriedly, to shut him up. He was a year younger, but people always asked if the siblings were twins. There was a strong family resemblance. Standing, Eris placated, "We'll talk later. Right now, I need to change into my uniform, and you have prefect duties, so…."
Her brother cut her off. "What about your prefect duties, sister? Or was that something else you didn't feel like hanging around for?" When she refused to answer, he shook his head. "I'm not always going to cover for you."
Gathering the cards once Erik stormed out, she smiled wryly at Severus. He had observed in watchful silence. "Happy families. Is there really such a thing?"
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He considered the question and said, "I do not know." He had to look away from Eris' wistful expression. He did not want to think of this girl as anything but a spoilt child of privilege.
Severus turned away and tried to keep his gaze firmly on the window. He failed. Excellent peripheral vision was both curse and blessing once she pulled a uniform out of her charmed clutch. Apparently thinking him riveted by the darkening landscape, she began to change. Afterwards, they sat on opposite sides of the compartment. The train pulled into the station. He rose and lifted her trunk down.
"Thank you," said Eris quietly.
"You're welcome."
He looked toward the window. Something was slipped into his hand. Severus looked down. It was a deck of playing cards.
"Maybe we'll play again sometime," she said from the corridor.
Narcissa Black and three other girls surrounded her.
"Eris!"
"Where have you been hiding?"
"What have you been up to this summer?"
"Let's go find a carriage so you can tell us all."
Within moments, the Slytherin girls had rushed their friend away, chatting non-stop. Collecting his trunk, Snape stepped onto the platform. As he made his solitary way toward the carriages, his hand slipped into his trouser pocket and touched a pack of cards.
Maybe.