Corvus Augustus Prince was contemplating the benefits of moving to France.
It wasn't something he often did. Life was good to him in Great Britain, and he was in a stable position with his family safe and healthy. He was not left wanting for anything as the Prince family was in possession of a very large Gringotts Vault. He even had a guaranteed position in the Wizengamot and had no need of a normal job due to his being inline for Lordship to the Noble House of Prince.
Yet, as he read through the most recent copy of the Daily Prophet, he couldn't help but wonder if he should stick his head into the upcoming war or just cut his losses and run away to the French countryside. Violence against Muggles was on the rise, a slight rise that was barely mentioned on the thirteenth page, but it was there. It was not overtly mentioned who had done it, but Corvus knew, and the whispering amidst some of the upperclassmen of Slytherin House wasn't all that encouraging.
He might find himself on the other end of a wand with some of his fellow Slytherins in the somewhat near future.
Corvus sighed as he closed the newspaper, his thoughts of France fading with the words. The date caught his eye and a memory at the back of his mind jolted. It was the first of September. He already knew that seeing as he was currently riding in Compartment C of the Hogwarts Express, but the year caught his attention, and he remembered something important about it. 1971 was the year that one Severus Snape started at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
A cousin that Corvus and his brothers had yet to meet.
They knew of his existence of course, their father Gaius Lucius Prince often lamented to them in private about how his only sibling was disowned and cast out of the family, though no one was allowed to have any contact with Eileen and her son. Grandfather and head of the family Septimus Severus Prince was very strict and a hardline blood purist. The man also didn't take kindly to the fact that his only daughter named her "half-blood mutt of a son begotten with a muggle" after him. They were to not speak with the boy and act like he didn't exist.
Something that Corvus was obviously not going to follow along with. He was a seventh year at Hogwarts and their grandfather was going to keel over soon at any rate. The man was very old, and his opinion held little weight on Corvus' conscious. Corvus also had the advantage of knowing what was going to happen – reincarnation was a blessing and a curse – and he had taken many steps to see that everyone in the family survived the upcoming war.
Severus Snape and his mother were part of that family.
"Oi." A pair of slender fingers snapped in front of his grey eyes. "You're brooding up a storm again."
Corvus looked over and caught the face that Narcissa Black was giving him. The sixth year Slytherin was a near textbook representation of pureblood sophistication. She had the beauty that all the women of the Black family held, with her uncharacteristic blonde hair falling down past her shoulders in soft curls, and those blue eyes which were so often described as cold had a sharpness to them as she looked at him. Not at all pleased at how he had apparently become lost within his thoughts.
"Apologies," Corvus offered as he set his copy of the Daily Prophet aside. "I've got lots to think about after all."
"Well, if you must, then I insist you do so aloud." Narcissa said and took a hold of her cup of tea. "This lunch has taken a rather sharp turn down memory lane for Professor Slughorn."
Corvus looked over at Professor Slughorn and found the man regaling some of the potential new members of the Slug Club about his connections with some of the previous members who had gone on to become rather famous quidditch players. The potential new members of Horace Slughorn's collection were listening with a varied amount of attention. Slughorn had been going on for around an hour at this point. Though, one of Corvus' younger brothers was among those were listening with rapt attention.
Alexander Julius Prince was obsessed with quidditch to a degree that Corvus did not have to fear for the kid doing anything else once he graduated from Hogwarts. He was only a sixth year, yet he had already gotten offers lined up from all of the top quidditch teams in Great Britain. Ballycastle Bats, Puddlemere United, Montrose Magpies, and others that Corvus couldn't care much about. If they were a major team, then Alexander would have gotten an offer from them, so of course Professor Slughorn would scoop the kid up to be part of the Slug Club.
Who wouldn't want Great Britain's most promising Seeker?
"Not a quidditch fan?" Corvus asked, even though he already knew the answer, and Narcissa looked like she wanted to roll her eyes at him.
"Sports that near guarantee bodily injury are hardly enjoyable." Narcissa retorted in such a haughty manner that Corvus snorted.
"Lay it on any thicker and I might believe you."
Narcissa simply looked at him with an expression that she had patented. Ice Queen of Slytherin was a moniker that was quite ridiculous to those outside of Slytherin House, but to those within, it made perfect sense. The Olde Way meant much more to the purebloods, and since all of the students in Slytherin House were purebloods or half-bloods, old titles held more weight. Not that Ice Queen of Slytherin held any real significance in the grand scheme of things, but Narcissa wore it with pride, and Corvus had to admit that it served some minute purpose within some social circles.
He answered the look with one of his own. The "pureblood court mask" as he his youngest brother had coined it was one that revealed nothing whilst also looking socially acceptable. Their grandfather had drilled it into his four "legitimate" grandsons so that they would be properly prepared for their seven years in Slytherin. There was no discussion or even mention of them going anywhere else during their time at Hogwarts, and Corvus had almost wanted to ask to Sorting Hat to place him somewhere else just to spite the old man, but he refrained in the end. Some battles weren't worth the effort of fighting.
"You've gotten entirely too good at pulling the face." Narcissa commented as she took a sip of her tea.
"We are of the House of Snakes after all." Corvus grinned slightly. "One would think it was a requirement."
It was amazing to see how much emotion could be displayed whilst also not showing anything on the face. Her cerulean blue eyes were like pools that had an almost unchartable depth to them that just begged to be explored. Such a combination between those eyes and her indiscernible but beautiful visage. No wonder so many of the boys in Slytherin were making poor attempts at initiating a courtship with her. Corvus had chuckled at some of the more fumbled attempts and Narcissa had been more than happy to laugh with him. Making it clear that he had no intention of ever courting her had Narcissa more relaxed that he thought possible.
It was a wonder that everyone in Slytherin was so stiff with one another. No one knew how to simply be friends without having ulterior motives. After he had made it absolutely clear that he had no intention of a relationship with her or wanted anything from her, a comfortable friendship bloomed, and now more often than not Narcissa would sit with him to trade words and at times gossip.
Though, to those looking from the outside, it seemed that Corvus stood as a final challenge for Narcissa's affections. Certainly, Lucius Malfoy had thought so, and the boy was not so much glaring at Corvus from where he sat, but he was definitely giving him a less than satisfactory look. He was also part of the Slug Club, mainly due to the same reason that Corvus was, the amount of money and influence their families commanded. Corvus glanced at the younger Slytherin and met that icy glare with a raised eyebrow.
Abraxas Malfoy's son simply met his eyes for a moment before turning away. He was not as arrogant as Corvus had expected, but the attitude was certainly still there, and doubtless it would come out more often when Corvus graduated. Hopefully Alexander would be able to tamper down any unneeded drama that might arise, and the twins would be there to help as well, that was if they could get their heads out of the potions' lab.
"Slytherin House is going to become slightly duller once you graduate." Narcissa said Corvus thought that might have been a genuine compliment. "I won't have a human shield against Malfoy as well."
Ah, there it was, Corvus smiled somewhat ruefully as he rolled his eyes.
"Don't get too emotional now." Corvus said blandly. "You're moving me to tears."
Narcissa offered him a small smile of her own. It was a rare thing, a smile from Narcissa Black that was not marred by pureblood political correctness, and Corvus wondered just how rare they were. The few times that he had been invited over to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black for some ball or whatnot had showed him just how rigid the family was. It was no wonder that Sirius Black rebelled so often from his family, it seemed like the only thing the kid could do to remain sane, and Corvus pitied the boy.
Even more so as he knew just how the sorting ceremony was going to play out.
"And if you're truly in need of a meat-shield," Corvus continued. "you could always join the Slytherin Quidditch Team. Alexander might even give preferential treatment."
Narcissa looked more insulted at the mention of her needing of preferential treatment than at joining and playing for a quidditch team. Alexander was captain of the team and one of Slughorn's favorites, so there would be little resistance to adding her to the team, and Corvus couldn't help but grin at the image of a prim and proper Narcissa Black flying around on a school broom chasing after quaffles.
"I'd sooner become a professor at Hogwarts." Narcissa said and gave him a look.
"You say that like it's a bad career path."
"You do realize who I am Corvus?" That haughty tone came back and there was a small lift of the chin in a way that would have been intimidating if not for the fact that Corvus had over eight inches on the girl. "As if I need to work a day in my life."
"Ah, yes, how could I forget? Britain's most eligible daughter who also comes with such a large dowry that it would make a goblin blush." Corvus lamented as he leaned back in his seat. "I must have had a lapse in judgement. Or mayhaps I've been dosed with something." He looked down at his half-finished cup of tea. "The twins haven't been around for a visit recently?"
"They did, though you were occupied with your brooding, and they did slip something into your drink." Narcissa said and Corvus found that quite alarming. "For someone who claims to not drink, you barely noticed as the firewhisky went down."
He looked down at his cup, sniffed at it and found that there definitely was the scent of firewhisky in the tea, and then surveyed the compartment until he spotted the youngest two of Gaius Lucius Prince's children.
Tiberius Antonius Prince and Tiberius Marcellus Prince – their grandfather had insisted on the exact same first name for the twins – had their heads together and were talking about something. The boys were now in their fifth year at Hogwarts, but they were already at N.E.W.T level in potions. Slughorn had collected them for his little club due to the guarantee that either one or both of the twins would grow up to be very famous potion masters. Those two had been experimenting with potions all last summer, and Corvus and Alexander had to spend nearly the entire holiday in the front yard as the fumes were nearly unbearable. It was a miracle that neither of their younger brothers had keeled over from toxic inhalation.
"Remind me to get back at them after the sorting." Corvus said as he took another sip of his alcohol laced tea. If his brothers had dosed it, they had done so marginally, for he could barely taste the firewhisky.
"And betray their confidence?" Narcissa placed a hand gloved in silk to her chest. "What would the others think?"
Corvus knew well that Narcissa didn't care about the opinion of others. For all that she was concerned, she was a basilisk, and the rest of Hogwarts were sheep.
"You've already betrayed it by informing me in the first place." Corvus said and raised the cup of tea. "And its not like either of them would hold it against you."
Corvus' youngest brothers didn't care much about their fellow Slytherins. To be honest, he was surprised that neither of them had been sorted into Ravenclaw, for they embodied the qualities of Rowena Ravenclaw far better than Salazar Slytherin. They were smart to an almost frightening degree and had such an intimate knowledge of potions that Corvus had more than once asked them for help with his own homework.
It made him wonder more than once how an old and horribly prejudiced man like Septimus Severus could have been the grandfather to children like Corvus and his brothers. There was also young Severus to think about. If things went about as Corvus remembered, Severus Snape would grow to be a potion master in his own right as well as a very skilled duelist who also dabbled in spell creation. The boy was certainly talented though lacked self-confidence. His home life might not have been the best either and his isolation had led him down a darker path.
But all of that had yet to happen. His cousin had yet to be sorted and the animosity felt between the boy and his Gryffindor rivals had yet to take root. He could work to nip it in the bud, and if that failed, then he could always point Narcissa in their direction. The sixth year had been named as a prefect, and she had written a rather long letter to him all about how she loathed the new responsibilities hoisted upon her, something that Corvus had skimmed before writing back some empty words of encouragement.
"Hold what against you?" Alexander said as he plopped into a seat across from Corvus and Narcissa, his mop of black hair was absolutely untamed, and swayed as he did so. Apparently Slughorn's story had come to a close and Alexander had lost interest in the next one. Corvus' ear caught some mention of the Ministry, and he knew that his brother avoided everything to do with the government like the plague, so here he was.
"The breaking of confidence." Corvus supplied. "It appears that Narcissa does not fear retribution from the twins."
"Hmm, dangerous line of thought Cissa." Alexander said, and if Narcissa was bothered at the use of such a childish nickname, she didn't show it. "'Tonius and 'Cellus can be viscous when they want to be."
"Should I be checking my food from now on?" Narcissa asked in a somewhat serious tone, for the twins had laced food with poisons before, though that had been a prank against some Ravenclaws, not that anyone could prove it was them who had done it.
"You mean you aren't doing so already?" Corvus asked and took another sip from his laced tea. "After what happened to me by poor tea that is."
"They got you too?" Alexander asked and at Corvus' nod, he smiled. "Filled mine with vodka, nearly spat it all over Slughorn, the prats."
"Well, at least it wasn't a potion, and how did you not notice?" Corvus asked. "Your cup was in your hand the entire time."
"Slughorn is a pretty good orator when he gets into it." Alexander shrugged. "And isn't that just a tad hypocritical since they also got you as well?"
"I wasn't holding my cup in my hand when they did it."
"Oh? So, what were you doing that had you so distracted?"
"I was thinking."
"Brooding more like." Narcissa said. "Leaving me all alone and unoccupied. Dreadfully devoid of conversation."
"We could always invite Malfoy over if you are truly in need of decent conversation." Corvus offered. The look he got from both Narcissa and Alexander was enough to get a chuckle from him. It wasn't that they hated the other Slytherin, he could be quite charming at times, but it was that Malfoy relied to heavily on his family name and nothing else. There was no true talent that came with the man, simply good looks, and the Malfoy name.
"Pretty boy Malfoy not doing it for you?" Alexander asked with a quirked eyebrow. "Might be that a quidditch player is more your style? One that's currently being hailed as the best Seeker this country's seen in a century? I've also certainly got the Princely look."
"Gods help us." Corvus muttered as he grinned beside himself. "You did not just use that line."
"I would hardly find your conversation any more interesting than whatever Malfoy has to say." Narcissa sniffed at that. "That sport is hardly civilized."
"Ah, but its so fun, is it not? Flying around at speed and challenging your fellow wizard or witch in spectacular fashion not suited for one such as Narcissa Black?" Alexander asked.
"Clearly, the five years we have known each other have come to naught, if you do not know something so fundamental as that."
"Harsh." Corvus commented as Alexander put on a show of faux hurt, hand to chest, and his face frozen in a half-shocked half-hurt state.
"I'm wounded Narcissa." Alexander said with his hand still on his chest. "My feelings of compassion and friendship with you irrevocably dashed. Salt has been rubbed into my wounds so that they may burn and that they may never heal again. Five years we have-"
"Stop with the dramatics Alexander." Narcissa said with a small grin upon her lips. Corvus couldn't help but roll his eyes and Alexander looked rather pleased with himself. Being a quidditch captain gave him a sense of confidence that it really shouldn't have.
The Hogwarts Express then exited the long section of tunnel they had been traveling through to reveal the dark night sky of Scotland. Corvus looked at the clock mounted to the wall of the train carriage to see that lunch had ended several hours ago in fact and that conversations had run long. He was surprised that so much time had passed. Professor Slughorn noticed as much as well and hastily concluded the meeting and sent them all on their way.
As Corvus made his way back to his compartment he bid goodbye to Narcissa – who had to meet with her prefect partner much to her disdain – as well as to Alexander. His brother clapped him on the arm before making his way out. Other members of the Slug Club stopped him every so often to offer some words of acknowledgement. Mostly empty greetings and requests to speak during the feast. Corvus returned all of them in kind as he made his way through Compartment C.
"Corvus." A familiar voice called out and he looked to his right to see one of the twins walking at his side. Tiberius Marcellus looked exactly like his twin, short black hair on his head and dark grey eyes were somewhat calculating, and the boy was rather short. Something that would hopefully change for the twins in the future.
"Marcellus." Corvus offered his youngest brother a small smile. The twins kept mostly to themselves and Corvus was fine with that. They were all still family in the end and he knew that they had his back if ever the situation in which it was needed arose. He had told them much the same in turn. Never let it be said that the Princes didn't stick together.
"He's here this year." Marcellus didn't need to say who he was. Everyone in the family knew who that was referring to. Their father had demanded that they write to him immediately after the sorting concluded so that he could learn the outcome of his only nephew. They didn't usually speak on Aunt Eileen or her son Severus, but that was going to change once their grandfather died, and Corvus was certainly eager to see what would happen to the family after that.
"Indeed, he is." Corvus said and entered his compartment where he had left his trunk. "He's most likely sitting with the other incoming first years."
"'Tonius wagered that he'd be a Ravenclaw or a Slytherin." Marcellus said as Corvus took his trunk and opened it. Changing into his Hogwarts robes took little time and Marcellus did much the same. "Hopefully its Ravenclaw."
"You don't want our cousin in the same house as us?" Corvus asked as he closed his trunk and reaffirmed the wards and locks on it. Never could be too safe.
"Grandfather won't like it if he's sorted with us." Marcellus didn't really care about their grandfather's opinion, mainly because the man was horrible at potions, but also because Severus was a child of eleven years and the whole concept of pureblood's being better had been disproven to him and Antonius quite early on. As it turns out potions didn't become easier just because one's father and mother were both wizards.
"As if our grandfather can do anything about it. He is stuck at the manor after all."
"Still, our cousin's a half-blood, and its not going to be easy if he's sorted into Slytherin and the truth comes out."
"Well," Corvus regarded his cousin as the Hogwarts Express started to slow down for their arrival at the Hogsmeade Station. "we'll just have to make sure he isn't made a pariah if he is sorted into our house."
Marcellus simply nodded at that. The compartment door then opened up again and Antonius popped in and started to hastily put on his own school robes. The elder of the twins was always less punctual about certain things, and though this was his fifth year at Hogwarts, the changing of robes always happened at the last second.
"Where were you?" Marcellus asked of his twin.
"With Slughorn." Antonius said as he pulled his robes out of his trunk. "I wanted to see if we could sit for our Potions O.W.L early."
"As if we even need it."
"True, we've gone beyond it in terms of material already, but if we get it done now, we can get back to our real work. I also wanted to speak to him about the potential modifications to our formula to reduce brewing time for Felix Felicis-"
Corvus left the twins after that. Talk of potions and testing wasn't interesting to him. Soon the Hogwarts Express had come to a halt at the station and the need for fresh air suddenly came upon him. He quickly made his way towards the door as the Hogwarts Express let out a sharp whistle to announce their arrival. Other than a few lamp posts, it was completely dark around the station platform – a very liberal use of the term – and the stars were twinkling in the sky above him.
As everyone else deboarded Corvus looked around to see if he could spot his young cousin. Alexander was already with members of the Slytherin Quidditch Team and was in discussion with the burly Keeper and one of the Beaters. Narcissa was doing the bare minimum of her duty as a prefect in herding the soon to be first years towards Hagrid, the half-giant yelling out for the first years to come like usual. He saw that Narcissa had a displeased look about her, and it only took a couple moments for Corvus to understand why, as by the looks of it, Lucius Malfoy was the other sixth year Slytherin Prefect. When their eyes met, Malfoy gave Corvus a somewhat smug look, as if Corvus was jealous that he hadn't been chosen to be saddled with the responsibilities of looking after little children and patrolling hallways.
Corvus simply offered the platinum blond haired boy a small smirk and continued on with his search.
The twins Antonius and Marcellus were speaking with an older Ravenclaw student who was also part of the Slug Club for her skill in potions. He vaguely remembered that her name was Pandora Somerset – a small part of his mind connecting to the fact that she was potentially the future mother of one Luna Lovegood – and that she was nearly as skilled in potions as the twins were. Corvus then looked back towards the group of first years and spotted a small group of heads, some brown, some blonde, some black, and a select few who were redheaded. He noted that one of them would be Lily Evans, but he couldn't spot which one was Severus, for the back of their heads didn't tell much.
"Ah, Corvus, just who I was looking for."
Corvus turned and watched as Professor Horace Slughorn made his way over towards him. The Head of Slytherin House was rather wide in the waist – those waistcoat buttons were putting in some serious work – and balding with a few strands of brown hair left on his head. That mustache of his was already bushy but manageable and hooked to look like that of a walrus' tusks.
"Professor." Corvus said with a nod and waited for the man to catch up to him, the flow of students moving around them. "Do you need something?"
"Yes, I was meaning to speak with you on the train, but a conversation went long." Slughorn grinned as the two of them started to make their way towards the carriages. Students were already heading on in while the little boats with the first years were on their own way. "Its still a shame that Montgomery signed on with the Chudley Cannons of all teams."
Right, Corvus did remember Alexander mentioning something about a certain Hufflepuff doing something completely idiotic, though he hadn't realized that George Montgomery had joined the Chudley Cannons. They were bottom of the league and had no chance of rising if all the shouting that his brother had done that day meant anything.
"Hmm, Alexander said as much when we heard the news over the summer holiday, with a few more imaginative phrases." Corvus said.
"Quite right." Slughorn chuckled. "But quidditch isn't what I wanted to speak with you about. You are a seventh-year student now and I have noticed that you are only taking your N.E.W.T.s for Defense, Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions."
"Yes, that is correct." Corvus didn't really care about any of the other classes. Defense against the Dark Arts was a necessity, as was Charms and to a lesser extent Transfiguration. Potions simply because the twins had bullied him into taking it. Everything else made little sense to study seeing as the coming years were going to be rather violent.
"Oh, well, I was just expecting you to take more seeing as you are one of my top students." Slughorn sounded a little put out about that. Corvus couldn't blame the man. It was rather easy to become a top student since he had already done all of this once before. Reincarnation was a blessing and a curse.
"My father wants me to focus more on a political career," Corvus said and noted the way that Slughorn piqued with interest at the mention of politics. "with Grandfather Septimus not in the best of health, he wants me to be ready in case anything unexpected were to happen and I was needed to take up the heirship. So, he advised me to limit the amount of N.E.W.T.s I'm taking so that I can focus more on politics."
"How very interesting." Slughorn said as they reached the carriages. Most of them had departed by then and they both climbed into one along with two students that Corvus didn't recognize. "I'm sure you've heard that Marcus Vaisey was accepted as one of the British Ambassador to France's undersecretaries."
"I did hear about the appointment." Corvus nodded at that. "Though I didn't expect him to accept the offer. He didn't seem to be overly fond of the man during that Yule party last year."
"It was just a minor squabble really." Slughorn waved off, and Corvus noted that the other two students in the carriage looked as though they had lost all interest in the conversation, as politics to a teenager's ear was as enticing as one of Professor Binns' lectures about the Goblin Wars. "And who could have said no when the man's wife started going off on all the benefits? Violet was always one of my favorites during her time in Slytherin-"
Corvus just nodded along as Slughorn turn went on a tangent about the British Ambassador to France and his charming wife who happened to be a member of the Slug Club. He didn't truly know anything about this Violet person, yet he was about to learn a whole lot about her, down to what letter grades she got in Potions. Seeing as there was no escape from this, he simply settled into his leather seat, and listened to the professor as he filled the carriage with his voice.
"I heard that we have to fight a troll."
Severus Snape, even though he knew what was just said was false, couldn't help but feel a little nervous. All of the incoming first years were making their way towards Hogwarts Castle, the half-giant called Hagrid leading the way with his lantern, and none of them seemed to know how the sorting would go. There were mentions of tests and feats of strength and even one kid saying that they were going to have to demonstrate magic in front of the entire school. Severus knew that wouldn't be the case, but his mother wouldn't tell him how the sorting would go, no matter how much he pressed her about it.
"You only get to experience it the once." His mother had said with a rare unblemished smile. "I don't want to ruin the experience."
So, Severus could only speculate as to what the method of sorting would be like, and that was feeding into his nervousness. Certainly, the same was happening to many of his fellow classmates, and by the time they had arrived at the school's massive wooden doors. When Hagrid reached up and knocked on the door three times with his massive fist, some of his fellow first years jumped at the noise, and Severus looked to his side.
Lily Evans was looking all around them, at the castle most of all, and there was wonder in her eyes. His best friend had been ecstatic when she had received her Hogwarts Letter. She had come over and told him all about it and Severus didn't know he could have smiled so brightly as he did that day. Severus of course knew he had magic already, his mother was a witch after all, but to know his best friend had it as well was like the icing on the cake.
"Trolls are real?" Lily half whispered to him with that same look of wonder in her eyes that she had for the entire boat ride over.
"They are, though I've never seen one in person." Severus answered.
"I've met one." A boy with black hair and a smirk on his face said. "Though I hardly think she'd admit to being one."
"Really?" Another boy asked, this one had brown hair.
"Oh yeah, my mum's a right troll, always so serious as well."
The massive wooden doors then opened and revealed a stern looking witch. She had emerald-green robes on and her hair in a bun that looked uncomfortably tight. She looked middle aged, older than his mother for sure, but no so old that her hair was greying. It was still full and colored like midnight.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid said to the stern witch.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
The half-giant nodded his big head and then left whilst the rest of them followed Professor McGonagall into the Entrance Hall. The walls were of grey stone and there were torches lighting the entire place from wall sconces. There was also a magnificent marble staircase facing them that presumably led up to the other floors. When Severus looked up to see how high it went, his eyes widened as he saw the stairs were actually moving, shifting positions so that they were never in the same place for too long.
All of them followed Professor McGonagall and Severus had to nudge Lily so that she wasn't stuck looking at the Entrance Hall like he had been. There were portraits of many wizards and witches but also knights and scholars that hung from the walls. They were all moving as magical portraits did and some of them were even looking their way. It was an odd feeling though Lily was enraptured by them like most other magical things.
Soon enough they were led to a set of massive doors nearly as big as the ones that the main entrance. The double doors were made of aged looking iron and there were four distinct crests that had been wrought into the metal. Severus recognized them from some of his mother's old textbooks, but he listened all the same as Professor McGonagall explained their meaning. There might be something here that his mother hadn't mentioned.
It turned out that there wasn't anything of use from the speech. He'd already heard about the four houses and the whole thing with house points and rules. Nothing too interesting, though he had been exposed to the wizarding world a lot earlier than some of the first years here, and by the looks of it, Lily and the rest were fascinated by what they were hearing. It unknowingly brought a small smile to his face at the wonder he could see in her green eyes.
"I shall return when we are ready for you all." Professor McGonagall said and then opened the double doors slightly and letting in some of the noise from beyond it. "Please wait quietly."
After that, she slipped into the room and the doors closed behind her. Severus and several others were still able to catch a glimpse within the other room and saw a lot of students sitting within. There was also a lot of noise coming from it. So, the instruction of remaining quiet didn't stick for long, and soon the group of first years were speaking once more.
"Isn't this amazing Sev?" Lily asked him with awe in his voice. She was almost shaking with excitement and a tad bit of nervousness about the upcoming sorting.
"It is." He replied.
"Oh, come on Sev! Where's all the emotion? We're gonna learn magic!"
"I am excited." Severus said and hoped that he sounded as much. "My mother told me all about what to expect at Hogwarts is all."
"Your mum's a witch?" A boy with messy black hair and glasses asked. "Both of my parents are magical. My name's James Potter by the way." The boy stuck out a hand.
"I'm Severus Snape." He shook the offered hand.
"Lily Evans." Lily shook the bespectacled boy's hand next.
"Evans? Snape? Can't say I recognize those names." Another boy, this one with more tamed black hair, and that smirk on his face said as he came over to them. "Which means you probably aren't purebloods. So, you're alright in my book, I'm Sirius Black."
Another hand was stuck out, though Severus noted that some of the other first years were frowning at what Sirius had said. Nevertheless, Severus and Lily both shook his hand, and the other boy gave a genuine smile instead of that smirk he had. A part of Severus' mind was working to find out why the name Black sounded familiar, his mother might have mentioned it in passing, and the kid in front of him was getting some dirty looks as well.
"What's a pureblood?" Lily asked.
Severus couldn't help the frown that came upon his face as James Potter started to explain the concept. His mother had sat him down before heading off to Hogwarts and explained it all in detail. How she was a pureblood witch born to a family of purebloods. How she had been cast out of said family because she didn't marry a pureblood as well but Severus' father. The marriage wasn't as happy as she had originally thought it would but, but nevertheless, Severus' mother said that she didn't regret the decision.
It was then that Severus learned that he had a magical grandfather, a magical uncle, and magical cousins, of whom four of them were currently at Hogwarts. That news was both exciting and somewhat infuriating. He had other magical family, but he had also never met any of them before, and his mother had explained that she'd been thrown out of that family because she married his father. He wanted to know why he hadn't met any of them before, and that had led to a long conversation about blood status and the deeply ingrained prejudices that Magical Britain had, something that had Severus debating if he even wanted to go to Hogwarts or not.
But his mother had insisted that he go. To hear tell, her Hogwarts years were some of the best she ever had, and she didn't want him to miss out on them. She had also used the fact that Lily would be in the same year as an incentive, one that Severus clearly saw as that, but he had to admit that he required very little convincing to go. His mother had also heard from some of the other witches she still spoke to that her nephews weren't as engrained in the pureblood mentality that her father had been.
That they wouldn't look down on Severus simply because he was a half-blood.
"Its stupid really." Sirius Black said and shook his head at what James had said. "There's no proof that any of it is true."
Severus heard some of the other boys in their year muttering at that comment. There were some dirty looks being thrown Sirius' way, not that the other boy noticed.
Then the sound of a wooden door came as it was pushed open. they all turned to look at the main entrance to find two people walking through a smaller door that was attached to the massive wooden ones of the castle. They were both speaking to one another, the older man with a maroon-colored suit on and a rather wide belly, while the younger man looked like a Hogwarts student. All the first-year students quieted down as they watched the pair make their way towards them.
"-of course, there is the World Cup that's going to happen next year. I hear that Italy is quite beautiful in the summer months and I already have word from a couple of our former members that we'd all be invited along if we'd like to come and watch." The older man was saying as he walked.
A professor most likely, Severus surmised, and he was right as the other man replied.
"Sounds wonderful professor. I'm sure Alexander and everyone else will be ecstatic to hear the news."
The older student then looked at them all and his grey eyes stopped on Lily for a moment. Going off of his tie, he was a Slytherin, and the rest of his uniform looked rather well put together compared to all of the first years. None of them had a black waistcoat with green accents or nice-looking dress shoes. He looked like a wealthy businessman instead of a student.
"Oh, you all are waiting for the sorting to start?" The fat older man said in a jovial tone. He was balding and had a rather large mustache as well.
"It appears we're rather late." The other man said.
"Ah, they always fiddle about for far longer than necessary to prepare the ceremony, and we might as well make some introductions as well."
"Poaching for Slytherin already?"
Severus noted the way that Sirius frowned at the mention of that house. He didn't understand why the boy disliked it. If all Slytherin students were this well dressed, it sounded like a great house to be in, certainly better than the clothes that Severus had on right now.
"I wouldn't call it poaching my boy, merely making introductions is all." The man then turned away from the older student and towards Severus and the other first years. "I'm Professor Horace Slughorn, Head of Slytherin House, and Potions Professor at Hogwarts! I know Minerva has yet to bring you all in for the sorting, and I'm certain you all have heard many things about it, so I'll just say that I hope that many of you will soon be joining my house. We're always looking for smart and ambitions minds."
"They have to get through the sorting first." The older student said with a small smirk. "Was it trolls or manticores this year?"
There were several worrying looks being given and some gasps as well. Severus couldn't tell if the older student was serious about it or not. Everyone was so tight lipped about this sorting ceremony that it might very well be true that they had to do something like fight a troll.
"I believe neither." Professor Slughorn said with a chuckle. "But I did hear mention of unicorns from Filius. Well, its no matter, we'll be seeing it eventually. See you all in shortly now."
With that, Professor Slughorn and the older Slytherin student made their way into the room that Professor McGonagall had earlier. When the door closed again, talk exploded from them all, and even Severus was curious as to what they had to do during the sorting.
He didn't even know the first thing about unicorns.