It was the Blood-Traitor that had opened the door. Well, at least it had not been the Muggle. That was the only positive that Lucius could think of. It wasn't much of a positive, though.

"I'm sorry," Eileen spoke, "but we don't have time for any visitors right now."

"You have time for me," Lucius replied in a haughty voice. "Besides, I'm not here to see you. I'm here to see Severus."

"Severus?" Eileen said in surprise. "Why would you want to see my son?"

Why should it come as such a surprise to the woman that someone would actually be interested in her son? Was she ashamed of him or something? Did she have no pride in him?

How could she not be proud of someone who was clearly destined for greatness?

"That's none of your business," Lucius sneered. "Now, tell me, is Severus home or not?"

"Manners, boy," Eileen snapped, her voice raising in volume.

"You're not worthy to be treated with any manners, you filthy Blood-Traitor," Lucius hissed. "You are a disgrace to us proper Purebloods."

Eileen looked at Lucius from head to feet. Recognition suddenly began to appear in her eyes.

"You're Abraxas Malfoy's son, aren't you?" she said in a much quieter voice.

"My name is Lucius," the blond-haired teenager snarled. "Now, for the last time, is Severus home or not?"

"Severus is eating breakfast right now," Eileen answered.

"So, does that mean I can come in or not," Lucius said, his tone of voice indicating that it was more of a command than an actual question.

Eileen stepped aside for him. "Come in," she said.

"You're much too kind," Lucius returned mockingly as he entered the house.

Eileen closed the door behind them and motioned for Lucius to follow her.

As Lucius followed Eileen through the house, his level of disgust only continued to grow.

The house, while not big, could have been decent-looking if the Snapes had actually put any care or pride into it.

A little bit of paint, for instance, could have done wonders for the wall, which was chipping in several places.

Lucius had to step over a hole in the floor as he walked. Honestly, it was amazing that the house had not yet completely fallen apart.

What was wrong with Severus's mother? Wasn't she a witch? Why didn't she just wave her wand and fix everything up?

There was no worse Blood-Traitor than one who insisted on living like a Muggle and pretending as if they had no magic. Were they friends with the Weasleys?

And was Eileen Snape's husband that ashamed of her magic? If so, then why was she still with him? No Muggle was worth giving up your magic for. Lucius couldn't imagine a life in which he wasn't able to do magic. He didn't want to imagine such a life.

Did Eileen Snape have no pride in herself?

This was the house of a typical Muggle or a typical Blood-Traitor. They had no pride whatsoever. They truly were inferior.

Abraxas Malfoy was the true definition of a bastard, but at least he had pride. He wouldn't even be caught dead in a place like this.

And he would be angry beyond words if he ever found out that his son was in a place like this, just because he wanted to visit a Half-Blood.

How could someone with Severus's intelligence and abilities be a Half-Blood? It didn't make any sense.

None of this was right. A wizard with Severus's potential should not be living in a place like this, regardless of his blood status. He was way too talented to not be given the proper credit that he deserved. This was just further proof that there was no such thing as justice or fairness in the world.

Eileen walked into the kitchen.

"Sorry, Tobias," she said, "but he was very insistent on seeing Severus."

Lucius stepped into the kitchen and looked around. It was dingy. The whole house was dingy.

Severus should not be living in a place like this.

Lucius then looked at the table. All he saw was bread. What kind of breakfast was that? They weren't locked in a dungeon or anything like that. There was no reason for them not to have proper food on the table.

And that whiskey was clearly cheap, even though Lucius had a feeling it still cost more than the bread.

Lucius then finally looked at Severus.

The younger boy's jaw dropped at the sight of Lucius.

The blond-haired teenager gave Severus a slight nod in acknowledgement.

Lucius then looked closer at the younger boy.

Severus's clothes were ill-fitting and mismatched. It looked deliberate.

Lucius had to struggle to control his rage. How could Severus's parents treat him like this? Was he being punished for some offense?

Lucius looked around the kitchen once more. No, Severus wasn't being punished. This was how he was always treated.

All sense of pride was completely nonexistent in this house.