Evan Snape
The tall man approached them, glaring at Dudley, and loomed over them. He folded his arms across his chest and stared imperiously at Dudley.
"Nothing to say, Dursley?" he snarled.
"I-I...erm," sputtered Dudley, "you must be-"
"Evan Snape!" scolded Harriet from behind them. "What did I say to you?" she put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips at him.
"I-sorry Harriet," he muttered, looking much less intimidating with a sheepish look on his face. "I'll be nice." although he flashed Dudley another glare. He crouched down and smiled at Max and Violet. His face looked completely different when he smiled. The severe mouth turned up in a friendly smile, which smoothed the harsh lines of his jaw and cheeks, and the black eyes became softer. "Very pleased to meet you Max and Violet." he said in a much softer voice than the one he used on Dudley.
"Pleased to meet you Mr Snape." Max said, still looking wary as he shook Evan's hand.
"You look like them." said Violet, pointing at the twins, who smirked at each other.
"They look like me," he nodded, "I'm their dad. They definitely behave more like their mother's side of the family though." he arched his eyebrows at the twins who now wore a look of innocence that wasn't quite convincing. "Their mother and grandfather got into more than their fair share of scrapes at Hogwarts. They appear to be trying to out do the both of them." The twins looked shifty and glanced at their mother.
"Dragging their baby sister along for the ride." Harriet remarked, looking at them meaningfully.
"Yes, but Ruby rarely needs dragging." Evan said smiling as he stood again. "Why don't you boys go and show Max and Violet around, maybe find the others. Try not to get in any more trouble." he added as the twins started grinning.
XXXXXX
Max followed the twins out of the room, Violet slightly behind him, and to the wide staircase at the back of the house. Ruby was sitting on the third step up with Tatters curled around her shoulders. She grinned as she saw them approaching and got to her feet, the cat staying perfectly balanced. She grabbed hold of one twin by his hand.
"Sevvie, Lily and Albie are in the attic. They said to bring Max and Violet up." she said, tugging at her brother's arm.
"Come and meet them-" said Severus.
"-then we can show you the grounds." said the other, who must have been Harry.
"And the brooms." they said together with the same grin.
"Do you two do that a lot?" Max asked, as they climbed the stairs. "The talking together thing?"
"Sometimes." they chorused.
"Actually," said Severus, "we only really do it to freak people out. It's fun to watch them squirm."
"We do it by mistake sometimes though." added Harry, "Drives dad crazy, but mum thinks it's hilarious."
"Your dad's a bit scary." said Max.
"Nah," laughed Harry, "he's the soft touch really. He acts like he's gonna flay us alive or something, but really he let's us get away with murder when mum's not about."
"Mum's the one you have to watch," Severus said, conspiratorially, "she can really shout when she gets going. Then again, we did give them a fair bit to shout about in the first year."
"We shouldn't get caught quite so much this year though." said Harry, looking guilty when Severus nudged him.
"Why not?" asked Max.
They had reached a long landing stretching out from either side of the stairs. It led off to the second floor of the cottage. There was another door directly in front of them, which revealed a smaller wooden staircase leading into the attic. Severus led the way and Harry winked at Max.
"We'll tell you some time," he whispered, "but wait until we get to school."
Max was intrigued, but he said nothing and followed the twins up the stairs.
The attic was huge and piled with boxes and cloth covered piles. In a space near an attic window sat a scruffy haired boy and a red-haired girl. They were leaning over something on the floor. They looked up when they approached.
"Hi," said the scruffy haired boy, jumping up, "you must be Max. I'm Albus, or Al, but not Albie." he stuck his tongue out at Ruby when he said that and she giggled.
"Hi Albus," Max said, "this is my sister Violet or Vi." Violet smiled at him.
"So you're going to be starting Hogwarts with me then?" said Albus. "We can sit together on the Hogwarts Express."
"What's that?" said Max.
"The school train." explained Harry, or possibly Severus.
"Tell me a bit about Hogwarts." said Max, "I've reread my letter about twenty times but it doesn't really tell you anything about it."
"Hogwarts is amazing," said one of the twins, "we started last year and it was even better than we had heard. When you get there you get sorted in the Great Hall, in front of the rest of the school, into one of the four houses. They were founded thousands of years ago by the wizards and witches who built the school. Rowena Ravenclaw founded Ravenclaw House, they're supposed to be really intelligent and insightful. Then there's Helga Hufflepuff's house, Hufflepuff's are loyal and hard working, and Salazar Slytherin's house are ambitious and cunning. Then you have Godric Gryffindor. Who this town is named after. Gryffindor house are supposed to be brave and bold."
"We're in Slytherin," smiled Harry, Max thought, "our cousin Serpens is in Gryffindor. Uncle Ron laughed pumpkin juice out of his nose when he heard."
"Why?" asked Violet.
"Because the animal of Slytherin House is a snake and Serpens is named after the snake constellation." smirked Harry. "His dad, Uncle Draco, was in Slytherin and he was so sure Serpens would be too."
"Was he cross?" asked Violet.
"Of course not," laughed Severus, "Aunt Ginny was in Gryffindor. So were Mum and Dad , and Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron. Uncle Blaise was Slytherin though, and Aunt Luna was in Ravenclaw."
"You've got loads of aunts and uncles," said Max, "is your dad from a massive family?"
"No," said Lily, sitting quietly on the floor, "neither Mum or Dad had any siblings. Our aunts and uncles are all close friends of theirs. They went to school and fought in the war together, Mum says that makes them family."
"Dad says that makes them a pain in the arse," smirked Severus, "but he smiles when he says it."
"What war did they fight in?" asked Violet. "Were they in the army?"
"Not a muggle war," said Albus, "this was a wizard's war, against some guy called Voldemort. He killed Mum's parents, but he couldn't kill Mum, even though she was a baby at the time. Everyone thought he was dead, but he came back again when mum was at school. She beat him loads of times and killed him eventually, with some help from Dad's Dad. He was a teacher at the school and a spy for The Order."
"The good guys," supplied Severus, at Max and Violet's blank looks, "the bad guys were called Death Eaters."
"Severus Snape saved Mum's life a few times," continued Albus, "that's who Sevvie is named for. Voldemort killed him too in the end, but Dad was hidden away safe. He came to Hogwarts in Mum's last year after Voldemort died. They fought werewolves."
"There are real werewolves?" said Violet looking worried.
"Not so many now," said Lily, "Dad found a cure a few years ago. Most people who get bitten drink the potion and they're fine. Uncle Draco is still one though. He can control when he changes though, so he says it's too much fun to have it cured."
"Does that mean your cousin is too?" said Max.
"No," said Lily, "Dad made Aunt Ginny a potion to take when she was pregnant that stopped it being passed on. She wasn't worried, but Draco insisted."
"There's so much to remember," said Max, "I'll never be able to keep up."
"It's fine," said Albus, "lots of muggle borns come knowing less than you do now and they cope fine. We'll tell you as much as we can, but don't worry too much."
"So whay else can you tell me?" said Max, still slightly concerned.
"What about quidditch?" said Ruby.
"What's quidditch?" asked Violet and Max.
"It's a sport played on brooms." said Lily, getting to her feet. "We can explain the rules to you."
"Even better," said Albus, excitedly, "come down to the garden. We have a practice pitch."
"We can show you." said the twins together.
XXXXXX
Harriet and Dianne chatted comfortably together in the living room, while Evan and Dudley sat slightly awkwardly. Evan seemed to be trying to glare at Dudley while looking neutral whenever Harriet looked over. The effect wasn't quite as intimidating as it was supposed to be. Dudley decided to try and break the ice, despite Evan's obvious hostility.
"So is that your motorbike on the driveway Evan?" he asked. Evan snorted at him, which earned him a look from Harriet.
"No," he sneered, "that monstrosity was inherited by Harriet, from her godfather. I prefer more subtlety to my travel."
"What he means," interrupted Harriet, with a smirk, "is I took him for a ride on it once and he screamed like a little girl."
"Hardly surprising, with you in control of the damn thing." Evan retorted, but he was smiling fondly at her. "Impetuous, foolhardy Gryffindor."
"Takes one to know one dear." she winked at him. "Why don't you take Dudley to look at the bike while I show Dianne the house? I'm sure you'll find the kids in the garden when you're finished. We'll bring some lunch out for everyone when we're done."
"Yes dear." muttered Evan, standing and glaring at Dudley again, then growling. "Come Dursley, follow me."
The motorbike stood gleaming on the driveway and Dudley made an appreciative noise. He ran his hands over the frame and engine, wondering how deep its roar would be.
"Have you got the key?" he asked Evan, "Do you think I could start it, maybe ride it?"
"No key needed." Evan said with a withering look. He pulled his wand from his sleeve, Dudley backed up slightly, and Evan tapped the handlebars. The engine roared into life, a deep loud rumbling.
"Sounds amazing." Dudley said, edging closer with a look of longing. "Can I just sit on it? I always wanted a motorbike like this."
"By all means," Evan said, with an evil smile that Dudley completely missed, "why don't you take it for a quick spin up the drive?"
"Really?" Dudley breathed. He sat astride the bike, the engine purring beneath him, and then slowly pulled away. He gently trundled down the driveway and turned round at the end.
"You can go faster than that." smirked Evan.
Dudley gunned the engine and accelerated towards the house, but as the speed built up the front wheel lifted off the ground and the bike soared into the air. Dudley clung on for dear life as the bike rolled in the air and flew over the main building of the house. He closed his eyes as the bike narrowly avoided the right tower and flipped upside down. He screamed in terror as he felt the bike spiralling around through the air. He opened his eyes again to see a tall post, with a hoop like a lollipop at the top, rapidly getting closer. He was vaguely aware of shouting and figures moving nearby, but in his terror he didn't notice who they were. The post filled Dudley's vision and he knew he was going to hit it, but he couldn't do anything about it. He heard a sickening crunch, then felt a blinding pain, before everything went dark.