Part 21 – The New Recruit
Sunday morning arrived along with another storm. The Slytherin common room was full of students who jostled for seats in front of the cavernous fireplace. The echo of thunder resounded around the room and tempers were becoming frayed as the students stayed in close quarters rather than going out into the grounds as they had done on the earlier, milder, weekends of the school year.
Severus was seated in his usual corner across the room from the fireplace. The wind howled and Severus soon realised why it was that the seat he had chosen was vacant so often. Shivering slightly he looked around to see if he could make out where the icy draft was coming from but he couldn't tell for sure.
Hunching down over his books he squinted at his hand written notes and tried to decipher his own minuscule script. Wishing he had written in a larger print he picked up his quill he tried to concentrate on remembering what Professor Binns had said in class so that he could finish his History of Magic essay. He was only a few paragraphs into the essay when the raised voice of Bellatrix Black echoed through the room in a volume that almost rivalled the clap of the thunder.
"It's not my fault!" she yelled as she jumped to her feet. The noisy common room was silenced instantly as every set of eyes in the room turned to the dark haired fifth year who was shouting at the bowed blond head of Lucius Malfoy.
"You say that a lot, don't you?" he asked in a quiet tone that still managed to carry throughout the room to the eager ears of the other students.
"What do you expect me to do about him?" Bellatrix hissed, her hands on her hips, as she towered over Lucius who was still seated on the sofa.
"He needs to decide, now. Go and convince him of the preferred choice." Lucius turned away as he picked up his issue of the Daily Prophet and leisurely flicked through it.
"He has decided," responded Bellatrix. "He won't listen. He's not like the rest of us."
"He's a Black isn't he? He'll make the right choice in the end."
"You're not listening," Bellatrix answered, her voice rising again. "He might be a Black but he's not prepared to stand up with the rest of us. He's become friends with that Potter boy, and you know what sort of funny ideas that family has."
"So what you're saying," Lucius asked in a silky tone, "is that James Potter has more control over your cousin than you do? That Sirius will listen to someone like that, someone with no wizarding pride at all, rather than his own family?"
Bellatrix sat back down in her seat and nodded silently.
"First Andromeda showing a complete lack of interest, and now Sirius."
Bellatrix nodded again, a thoughtful expression on her face. She waited silently for Lucius to speak again.
"A pity," he finally said. "We could have used a lad like him. He's popular, influential…he would have been ideal for recruiting. A bit young now but when you plan ahead he is just the right age really. He could have brought a lot of the first years round to our way of thinking. He could have been right in the thick of things when He makes his move."
"There are others who could…" Bellatrix began.
"Like who?"
"Well, what about, say, Severus?"
Severus felt his face flush as he heard his name mentioned. He caught the quick glance that Bellatrix cast his way. Looking across at Lucius he saw clearly the look of scepticism on his face. He wasn't surprised, popular and influential were hardly words that could describe him.
Bellatrix also noticed Lucius's expression and leaned forward to press her case. Severus strained her hear what she was saying but now that she'd finished shouting most of the others in the room had lost interest in the argument. The general chatter grew louder and Severus could not make out any more of their conversation.
Turning back to his essay he tried to concentrate on notable wizards of the Middle Ages. Within minutes he felt his attention wandering again to the two heads bent in deep discussion on the sofa. The blond and black hair spilled down to shield their faces as they whispered their plans.
Some time later Severus had still failed to write even half a foot of his essay when the shadow of Lucius Malfoy fell across his desk. He looked up to see Bellatrix standing just behind him.
"Bella seems to think you could be useful," Lucius began as he sat down at the opposite side of the table. His tone betrayed quite clearly that he was not of the same opinion as Bellatrix. Severus waited in silence.
"Bella thinks you might be able to step into the position we had hoped Sirius would take."
"Position?" Severus questioned.
"We should have known Sirius wouldn't co-operate. He spends far too much time with Andromeda during the holidays. And he took up with the wrong sort right off when he arrived here."
"You mean muggle-borns?" Severus asked, Lily coming immediately to his mind, even though he knew that she was not the only one in the school and not remotely friendly with Sirius or James.
"Mudbloods," spat Lucius. "Infiltrating the school and the rest of the wizard community too."
"But not forever," interrupted Bellatrix with a look of anticipation on her face.
"Certainly not forever," agreed Lucius with a sly smile. "There's someone who's going to change things back to how they used to be. Get rid of the mudbloods and muggle lovers once and for all."
"Who?" asked Severus in a quiet tone. He had never seen Lucius in this type of mood before. He was clearly passionate in his hatred for anything that had to do with muggles and his conviction that things would change rang true with his every word. He wondered if Lucius knew his father was a muggle. Bellatrix knew but perhaps Lucius didn't…or maybe he knew but had forgotten?
Or maybe, Severus silently considered the older boy had somehow heard what his father was like.
"I can't tell you that yet," Lucius shook his head sadly. "You have to prove your loyalty first. We all had to. Right Bella?"
"Right," she replied as an expression of remembered pleasure spread across her pale face.
"Only when you've proved yourself can you meet Him." Lucius leaned forward and lowered his voice even more. Sitting only a few feet away Severus could still barely make out what Lucius was saying. "Until then you will receive his instructions through me."
"What sort of instructions?" asked Severus, curious in spite of the feeling of foreboding that he had descended upon him.
"Nothing for you to worry about at the moment. Are you interested in becoming part of the big picture?"
Severus looked across to Bellatrix who nodded almost imperceptibly. Severus turned back to Lucius and nodded his agreement. Even as he agreed to be a part of things he wondered what it was that he was to become a part of. He had nothing against the muggle-borns in the school and he wondered what he would be expected to do. He'd seen the reports in the Daily Prophet about the attacks on muggles and muggle-born wizards. They were becoming more and more frequent and although he knew that Lucius and the rest of the Slytherins applauded the perpetrators of the crimes he had felt a sick feeling in his stomach whenever he read about any of the attacks.
"What am I supposed to do?" asked Severus in a small voice.
"Good lad," Lucius grinned. "Not much for the moment. Just start asking around the other first years, particularly those in other houses, and find out which are open to the idea of changing things back to how they used to be. See if you can find out which ones are unhappy with the tainting of wizard blood. Just let me know of anyone who sounds like they might be interested. I'll take it from there. Okay?"
"Okay," agreed Severus. It didn't sound that hard a task. He would ask around and it might even help convince Lily that he had other friends and didn't need her pity. With a shock he realised that he had forgotten the time completely and the common room was now emptying out as the rest of the students went to the Great Hall for lunch. Lily and the others had been expecting him hours ago and he had altogether forgotten about the study group. Cursing under his breath he followed after Lucius and Bellatrix as they stepped out of the common room and headed down the corridor to the Great Hall.
They were amongst the last of the students to arrive in the Great Hall and looking across Severus saw Lily and Veronica talking animatedly at the Gryffindor table. Neither looked up as he entered and he shoved aside the feeling of disappointment as he sat down next to Lucius who gestured for Rodolphus Lestrange to move aside and make space for him.
Feeling truly welcome for the first time at the Slytherin table, Severus ate his lunch with a pleasure that was only dimmed slightly as he saw James, Sirius and Peter laughing loudly on the other side of the room. He recalled the party they had been planning and wondered if it was still going ahead. Remus had not been seen since the class on Friday.
Standing to leave Severus found that he was exiting the Hall at the same time as Sirius and James.
"Been practising your dark arts, Snivellus?" Sirius laughed. Severus reached for his wand and turned around to point it at Sirius.
"I'll practice on you any day," he hissed. Sirius and James just laughed again. Peter wandered up behind them and joined in with a peal of laughter of his own.
Sirius carried on past Severus and turned his back on him. James followed with a smirk.
"Aren't you going to hex him?" asked Peter in a disappointed voice.
"Not worth the effort today," replied Sirius in a bored tone.
"Yeah," agreed James. "Too much planning to do."
"For the party?" asked Severus in a quiet, sly tone.
"What do you know about that?" asked James as he turned back round. Sirius followed and they moved towards Severus who backed into the painting on the wall behind him.
"Watch it there," grumbled the elderly witch in the portrait. Severus turned to look up and mutter an apology. When he turned back all three of the friends had surrounded him and he had nowhere to move to.
"What do you know about a party?" James repeated as he reached into his robes for his wand.
"Enough to know that a word to Professor McGonagall would have you all in detention, or expelled." Severus gripped his own wand tighter but did not raise it.
"You wouldn't," said Peter, who sounded like he was worried that Severus would do just that.
"He can't tell anyway," said Sirius casually. "He doesn't know when it is."
"Yes I do," insisted Severus. "It's tonight."
James laughed lightly. "It was tonight but not any more."
"Postponed," nodded Sirius.
"Couldn't have it without Remus," said James.
"You put off the whole party just because Remus won't be able to make it?" Severus's tone was one of complete disbelief.
"Just because people would move parties to stop you being at them, doesn't mean everyone's like that. Remus is our friend and we wouldn't have a party without him." James looked to Sirius who nodded in agreement.
Severus could not think of a thing to say. As loath as he was to admit it, James was right. No one would alter the arrangements of a party to accommodate him.
"So you can go tell tales all you like," said Sirius. "If McGonagall comes to check on us we'll be snug in our beds and you'll just look stupid."
"Nothing new there then," chuckled Peter who looked ecstatic as James and Sirius smiled at his joke.
Turning away the three of them carried on down the corridor in the direction of the stairway that lead to the Gryffindor Tower. Severus stood where he was for a moment and watched them leave. The trio's laughter echoed back through the corridor to Severus and even the crack of the thunder overhead could not drown them out.
Severus looked back into the Great Hall where Lucius was still talking with the Lestrange brothers about the upcoming Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw Quidditch match. He didn't feel like joining them and moved on towards the common room. He imagined he could still hear the sound of James and Sirius laughing and for one brief moment he wondered what it would be like to be a part of that laughing group.
Stepping inside the common room again he saw that it was almost empty. The few students that were there hardly gave him a glance as he moved back to his table and his forgotten History of Magic essay.
