"Ah, Orion Black." An slick voice commented as Sirius and his family walked out of Knockturn Alley, some time after the sting of Sirius' public humiliation had faded. "And the always charming Cassiopeia."

"Abraxas Malfoy." Orion greeted, shaking the man's hand. "How have you been?"

Cassiopeia inclined her head at him. "We have not seen you about lately."

Sirius glanced up from his magazine at the sound of the name; it sounded vaguely familiar. He had bought it in part because he was a Qudditch Enthusiast, of course, but also partly because he could ignore his family and remain indiscreet by reading it. They tended not to lecture him if he blended into the background. He was just glad that Bellatrix had taken his brother, Regulus, to get food so that they were not able to pester him while he read. He was getting very sick of Bellatrix; she always in his business.

Sirius studied the stranger and suffice it to say was greatly put off by him. He had a very intimidating presence, and that was something, coming from Sirius, whose own parents gave off a highly menacing air. The man was tall and powerfully built, with close-cropped hair so blond it was nearly white. He was incredibly pale, with a pointed face and cold, dark, eyes; he was eerily reminiscent to pictures Sirius had seen of corpses. Malfoy radiated wealth, even more so than the Blacks: he wore a thick velvet cloak over flowing black robes of the finest silk, which just served to make him appear even bigger, dragon hide boots shod his feet, dragon hide gloves encased his hands, every clasp and button on his clothing was made of silver, and he carried a long black cane topped with a silver snake's head with sapphires for eyes. He wore a cold, haughty expression, and his mouth seemed to be permanently twisted into a grotesque sneer. Sirius gave an involuntary shudder and quickly turned back to magazine. Malfoy did not look like the kind of you ever wanted to cross.

"Yes, indeed, I've had to do some…housekeeping." Malfoy was saying in that slick, raspy voice of his, that chilled Sirius to hear. "Let us just say that these Ministry raids are becoming rather tiresome…"

Cassiopeia nodded in agreement. "Undeniably. I've heard these stricter guidelines regarding possession of so-called "Dark Artifacts" has something to do with that new Auror they've hired. Alastor Moody."

"Hopefully someone will be able to…dare I say it…take care of him?"

Cassiopeia gave a harsh laugh. "Oh that would be magnificent."

"So what brings you lot here?"

"We're here getting our eldest son's supplies together for his first year at Hogwarts." Orion responded.

"May your son get Slytherin, like mine. The only one which is still pure nowadays."

Sirius rolled his eyes and brushed his long hair back behind his ears impatiently.

"If the boy can manage to do one simple thing right, he will get in." Cassiopeia said disgustedly. "Else it would disgrace the name 'Black'."

"It's good to see another wizarding family with standards."

"Quite right. We just saw the most absurd little mudblood and her family shopping for Hogwarts supplies." Orion commented.

Sirius gritted his teeth in irritation at the way his father spoke of that pretty little red-haired girl.

Malfoy nodded. "Indeed. The school's standards have certainly become much more…lax since our days. It has much to do with the new headmaster there from what I've heard. He can't tell the right sort from the wrong sort, not at all."

Sirius rolled his eyes. He really disliked this man.

"That is the same conclusion I have drawn, as well. We had to come here anyway for school supplies, for only top-of-the-line will do for a Black, even a wayward one." Orion explained. Orion gestured to Sirius, who knowing his father was about to call attention to him, pointedly chose to look back down at his magazine.

"Tell me about it. It is always disappointing when a child does not meet your expectations. My own son often left a great deal to be desired, until I realized more discipline was just what was needed. Now he's on the right track. Isn't that right, boy?"

"Yes, I do suppose so, father." A new voice, younger, responded dryly.

Sirius glanced up over his magazine to see the speaker. It was unquestionably the man's son. He was a tall, lithe boy of seventeen or so, with the same pale, pointed face. He had long, white-blond hair, nearly as long as Sirius' own, and cold, gray eyes, glittering with malice. A bored expression was on his face, his mouth twisted into that same cruel sneer as his father's. Sirius instantly disliked him; however, upon glancing around, he discovered that he was probably the only one who did…well, except for Andromeda.

"Ah, Andromeda." The boy said, silkily, eyes lighting up, a lascivious smile taking the place of the sneer.

"Lucius." She responded, rather curtly.

He sidled closer to her. "And how was your summer?"

She inched closer to Sirius. "Fine. And yours?" She asked, with a tone that flatly said she did not care in the least how his summer was.

"Oh, glorious, went traveling with father to the best sites all over the country. We stayed in, of course, the finest hotels, and—"

Sirius got the strong feeling that this kid, Lucius, just liked to hear himself speak. Andromeda, judging by the thinly veiled disgust apparent in her face, had much the same line of thought.

"Ah!" Malfoy exclaimed. "So you two know each other?"

"Yes, father, this is Andromeda Black, in my year."

"Oh, this is the famous Andromeda I've heard so much about over the past few years."

Sirius almost laughed at the look of utter horror and revulsion which passed over Andromeda's face. His parents, however, looked excited at the prospect of the pureblooded Lucius Malfoy showing an interest in their niece. Narcissa, on the other hand, looked somewhat crestfallen.

"Andromeda, you minx!" Cassiopeia exclaimed heartily. "You never told us you were acquainted with Abraxas' son! That's wonderful!"

Andromeda gave a forced chuckle. "Er, yeah, Auntie, I, um, must have…forgotten."

"You silly girl." She responded, surprisingly good naturedly. "Abraxas, we simply must have the families get together sometime, what with the kids so fond of each other and all!"

"Definitely. We'll make a night of it, perhaps over the Christmas holiday?"

Orion nodded. "That sounds like an excellent idea."

"Well, Orion and Cassiopeia, it was great seeing you again."

"Same here." Cassiopeia replied.

"Come, Lucius." Malfoy called out, and Lucius gave one last smile to Andromeda—a smile she most assuredly did not return—before following his father.

Sirius looked at Andromeda and began to laugh. "Aw, looks like someone fancies you, Meda."

"Shut up!" Andromeda retorted, blushing furiously.

"But it was so cute!"

"Shut up!" She snarled, eyes flashing.

"He was head over heals for—"

"Sirius, shut up!"

"Aw, I can just picture you together—"

"I said SHUT UP!" Andromeda shouted.

"Sirius!" Orion barked. "Stop harassing your cousin."

"Yes, one can only hope you find an acceptable pureblooded girl to take for a wife while you're at Hogwarts." Cassiopeia snapped. "It's wonderful that Andromeda has found such a perfect suitor; we could not have asked for better. A Malfoy, Andromeda, very nice indeed!"

"Er, yeah, Auntie, thanks." Andromeda mumbled sullenly.

Sirius snorted.

"Shut up!" Andromeda hissed. "If you mention him one more time, I will hex you, favorite cousin or not."

Sirius nodded, trying to act contrite, but could not help it. He began to laugh, despite Andromeda's angry glares. He laughed until a spectacle nearby captured his attention…

"Severus!" A man's harsh voice shouted out. "Come on, Boy, we're going!"

Sirius turned around at the sound of the commanding voice, interested by the prospect of someone else having to undergo public humiliation at the hands of their parents. That same feeling of innate dislike he had felt for the Malfoys came flooding back to him when he caught sight of the man. He was tall and gaunt, pale, with a great hooked nose, and thick black hair; he looked almost like a vampire. His eyes were dark and cold, holding more than a hint of malice. His mouth was hard set and his lips were curled upwards in disgust, revealing rows of uneven teeth. The man stood with perfect posture, arms crossed over his chest, an intimidating vibe emanated from him. Something about him repulsed and angered Sirius, but he could not put his finger on exactly what it was; unconsciously he took a step back and away from the stranger, about to follow his parents.

Sirius then he caught sight of what was unmistakably the man's son: a boy about his own age standing quite a ways from his father, shoulders slumped, with the air of someone trying their hardest not to exist. The boy was tall and thin, appearing sickly and sallow of complexion. His face looked odd and not quite right, and Sirius soon realized that was because it was mottled with bruises. They must have been fairly recent Sirius guessed, due to the fact that there was swelling still, which made his face look not look proportional, giving it a puffy appearance in places. He had long, stringy, greasy hair and purposely held his head so that it fell like a veil over his face, covering fresh black eyes. Sirius wondered what he could have been doing to get that far gone…a rough game of Qudditch perhaps? Maybe he'd taken a tumble off his broom from high up.

Like his father, or even more so, there was something Sirius strongly despised about the boy, for reasons he couldn't pinpoint or explain. He held a great tome in his hands, raised so close to his face that his long hooked nose was touching the pages. The boy seemed to be deeply engrossed in the book, so much so that he had not heard his father's call.

"Come here, Boy!"

When the man's son, Severus, once again did not respond to his father's summons, the man smiled grimly.

Sirius, who had been slapped quite often in his childhood for his tendency to get angry easily and mouth off to his parents, had never seen an incident like what next befell the man's son. The man stormed over to the boy and grabbed him viciously by his shoulders. He wrenched the huge, thick book from the boy's hands and smacked him in the back of the head with it before throwing it contemptuously to the ground. The boy stumbled forward with the force of the blow, putting one hand covered with barely healed cuts to his head and holding the other up as if to shield his face. His dark eyes were wide, yet seemed dull and devoid of life. His father snatched him by the arm and dragged him away so forcefully that Sirius was surprised that he didn't hear the crack of bone breaking. He turned away when the man began to berate the boy, loudly and colorfully, while the kid seemed to shrink into himself, cowering, eyes glazing over, looking very much like a dog that had been beaten into submission so often that the pain no longer fazed it. The boy just turned his face down towards his feet, clutched his hurt arm to his chest, and neither said nor did anything.

Sirius looked over at his family to see what they thought of the display; his parents looked undisturbed, even approving as they walked away, largely ignoring the event. His mother even muttered something about how "a little discipline was always good for an impudent child. Narcissa also looked unsurprisingly unfazed. The only one who seemed feel that the display was out of line was Andromeda, who watched the scene with her eyes narrowed, disgust written in every line of her face. She finally could no longer watch when she saw the man raise his hand, balled into a fist, to his son, and looked away, catching Sirius' gaze.

"Pig." Andromeda muttered bitterly. "Talk about disgrace to wizardkind…"

Sirius nodded his assent, looking back to see the end results of the man's special kind of discipline. He had apparently finished punishing his son for not having come running at his call, and was heading into Knockturn Alley at a brisk trot. The boy watched him until he had gone a few yards, his face impassive. When he appeared to be a safe distance away, the boy reached down and gingerly scooped up his book from the ground. He meticulously brushed it off to make sure it had not gotten any dust or dirt into its leather binding. The boy straightened slowly, and this time, the caught Sirius watching. He stared at him with those dark, fathomless eyes, and seemed to hold his passing glance, much like that pretty red-haired girl had been able to. The boy, Severus, glowered at him menacingly and curled up his lip in a distinct sneer. That was the last trace of pity Sirius felt for the boy; Sirius narrowed his eyes and glared at him in return before turning away and striding after his parents.

There's something I really hate about that kid!

Severus Snape was more than used to his father's…controversial parenting techniques. Incidents much like it had had happened many times before, and would undoubtedly happen many times in the future. Truth be told, that was actually considerably mild a reaction from his father; after all he had been ignoring him, while perhaps not intentionally, the acts still spoke for themselves. Severus had felt pretty good about this beating, for aside from a slight throbbing in his head and the sharp pains which now shot through his arm, he was injury-free. Probably he had dislocated his shoulder, sprained some muscles in his arm, or at the very least got another hairline fracture, but that would heal up in no time, and leave absolutely no scarring, which was definitely a plus. He almost wished the physical harm would have been prolonged and more serious, because then he would not have heard so much of his father's shouted insults…those were by far worse than any physical beatings. However, he was glad to find that years of verbal insults had desensitized him a little bit; they seemed not to sting so horribly after the ten millionth time.

No, by far the worst thing about this incident was that it had been in front of that spoiled little rich boy. Public humiliations were one thing, public humiliations in Diagon Alley quite another, but public humiliation in front of a snotty rich little pureblood who would be in his year at school was by far the worst of the worst. He had seen that boy, seen the swagger with which he had walked, seen the prominent family to which he belonged, and knew his type from the moment he had seen him walk by…and Severus was sure that the boy had not taken the time to even notice him at all. No, the boy was probably so wrapped up in his magazine, deciding which new broom to cajole his daddy into getting, that he had not noticed that there was anyone else in the world. He was conceited, Severus was sure, and undoubtedly spoiled rotten. He probably thought that he was the only person in the world that mattered because he was young, rich, and pureblooded. Snape hated him.

Severus, as a half-blood, the child of a simpering, weak witch, and an abusive, muggle father, despised his background, wanting so much to be pureblooded that he loathed those who had that good fortune. The boy only furthered his loathing for he was just as haughty, obnoxious, and arrogant as ever a child from that kind of upbringing could be. He stood there in clothes made of the finest, most expensive materials, his parents holding books filled with the finest school supplies money could buy, looking very arrogant and bored, and constantly playing with his long, black hair. Just because he was good-looking and rich, he probably believed he could get anyone to do anything for him. Severus hated him from the moment he lay eyes on the boy, hated him for everything he stood for. Severus was finally so disgusted he had been forced to turn his attention to his book; a rare tome on the Dark Arts his mother had acquired for him at his request.

To further add to Severus' innate hatred for the boy, his father had beaten and berated him not only in public, in Diagon Alley, but in front of this boy, the very object of everything Severus hated in the world! The boy had stood there, openmouthed, and watched as his father went on one of his all-too-frequent tirades. Severus had even seen pity in the boy's eyes! Pity! Like Severus would want pity from someone like him. The boy was probably going back to his mansion, getting pampered by his caring parents, and having a great laugh at Severus' expense. Severus knew his type and hated him. The worst part of it was that this boy had witnessed a very private matter, and would undoubtedly spread it all around the school, and Severus would have to spend seven years at the school with him! They would both undoubtedly be in the same house, Slytherin, as well, for everyone knew Blacks always were sorted into Slytherin. Severus had been so excited to finally be able to leave home, and now there was this to look forward to.

I really hate that boy!

A/N: I redid this entire chapter due to the new canon presented in HBP, about Snape's being poor anda half-blood. I also thought it would be interesting to bring in Lucius and set up the Lucius and Andromeda slant.

Please review with your opinions on the change!