Part 22 – An Olive Branch
For the next two weeks Severus spent most of his spare time searching for students that Lucius might be interested in recruiting. By sitting down next to a group of Hufflepuff students in the library he gleaned as much information as he could about them as he worked on his own homework. By eating on the opposite side of the table at meal times he found that he could easily hear the discussions from the Ravenclaw table directly behind him. But despite the fact that he was eavesdropping on numerous student conversations he was disappointed to find that very few had muggles on their minds. In fact it seemed that the only ones who actually mentioned muggles at all were those who had one or both muggle parents, and Severus knew that they were the last people that Lucius wanted to hear about.
In the space of two weeks Severus had come across only two students who might be of interest to Lucius.
The first was a Hufflepuff girl named Melissa who had been discussing muggle medical practices in the library. Her mother was a healer who worked at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Melissa had received an owl that morning from her mother who was dismayed that certain staff at the hospital were starting to advocate muggle healing methods. Melissa was shocked by this news, mainly because she was hoping to go into the profession herself and was worried she would have to add Muggle Studies to her subjects the following year.
The second was a Ravenclaw boy named Gregory who had also received an owl from home. His father was a worker at the Ministry of Magic and he had been passed over for a job for someone who was a half-blood. Although Gregory had not been particularly critical of the person in question he was outraged on behalf of his father that his father's seniority had not secured him the post merely because the Ministry was attempting to even out the numbers of purebloods and half-bloods in top posts.
Severus had reported back to Lucius about both of the students. Lucius had smiled and clapped him on the shoulder before heading out of the common room to send an owl with the information to Him.
Now two weeks later Severus was once again in the library listening out for anything that might be of interest to Lucius. Unfortunately the Ravenclaw students next to him were engrossed in their books and the only discussions taking place revolved around their essays.
Severus looked across the room to where Lily and the rest of the study group were working. He had missed the meeting last week and this week Lily had watched as he came into the library with Bellatrix directly behind him. He had shrugged discreetly in her direction and Lily had merely smiled sympathetically and silently mouthed "next week" before turning back to her own books.
Severus moved his potions books aside as he re-read the last of his essays. His work was done for the weekend and he had no reason to continue to sit around the library. He was about to get up and leave when he heard a whispered voice from the group beside him.
"…married a muggle, she did."
"No!"
"Yes! Disowned and thrown out without a knut to her name."
Severus listened closely as he wondered whether the students at the side of him were disapproving of muggles or not. From their words it had been rather difficult to tell. Rummaging around in his bag he searched for something to do that would keep him in the library. Looking to his left instead of in the bag he was startled to feel something sharp against his hand. Cursing under his breath he looked into the bottom of his bag and saw stashed at the bottom, a set of pencils he had long forgotten about.
Pulling them out along with some sheets of unused parchment he tested the lead pencils with a few quick strokes across the page. Even though they were muggle in origin they worked fine on the magically made parchment.
Severus looked at his pet toad where it sat on the table and with a quick grin he sketched a likeness of the creature. Looking at the paper he couldn't believe he had not drawn anything that was not for schoolwork since he had arrived at Hogwarts.
He remembered when he had first realised he had a talent for drawing.
Unlike many wizard children Severus had not been schooled only at home before going to Hogwarts. Instead he had been taught both at home and in a muggle school at the insistence of his two sets of grandparents.
Severus's mother's parents, Millicent and Mortimer were two of the most talented people in the wizard world. Unfortunately they were also two of the most critical people in the world as well. They seemed to loath Tobias although they could rival even him with their complaining. They stopped by very infrequently, once, sometimes twice a year. It had been at their insistence that Severus had been taught about magic and the magical world at home. He still recalled his father arguing against it but he'd backed down in the face of his wife's parents. The fact that they'd had their wands raised at him at the time probably had something to do with it.
His other grandparents were, of course, muggles and Severus had soon realised that they were as different from his mother's parents as night was from day. The only thing the two sets of grandparents had in common was the infrequency of their visits and while Severus was not sorry to see less of his mother's parents he did regret seeing less of his father's. It was from his grandfather Jack that he had learnt to sketch and draw. It was the only skill he had that he knew was entirely unrelated to magic.
When Millicent Prince had looked at Severus's long, thin fingers she had commented that he had the hands of a potions master. By contrast when Jack Snape had looked at the same hands he had told him he had the hands of an artist or a musician.
Jack had soon seen the talent that his lonely young grandson possessed and had encouraged him with gifts of pencils, paints and artist's parchment. On their rare days out together Jack had taken him to see collections of portraits and had watched and listened as the enthusiastic boy had spoken of painting one himself one day. The only time his enthusiasm reached even greater heights was when the young boy had seen the bewitched portraits, that served to fuel his passion for art even more.
Now Severus sat in the library and looked at the pencils that had been a going to school gift from his grandfather. He was ashamed that he had so quickly forgotten about them.
The conversation at the other table forgotten he picked up another sheet of parchment and made a sketch of the library and the students as they worked away. His jerky movements relaxed as he sketched and he sat back as let his hand fly gracefully across the parchment. Biting his lip as he finished he resolved to send it to his grandfather by owl as soon as he could. Another wave of regret swept over him as he realised that by trying to forget everything outside of Hogwarts he had also forgotten his grandparents.
Pulling another page towards him his hand flew across the page as he sketched everything that came to his mind, owls in flight and the unicorns and wolves that were said to inhabit the Forbidden Forest that was just visible from the window.
He chewed the end of his pencil as he struggled over the drawing of a thestral. How to draw something you have never seen and only heard of…
"These are really good." The voice seemed to come from far away and Severus jumped, startled out of his thoughts. He hadn't even noticed Remus Lupin sit down opposite him. Severus reached across the table and snatched back the sketch of Rupert, his mother's owl, from where Remus was looking at it thoughtfully.
"No, really. They're great." Remus reached across again to the nearest paper. "Who taught you how to draw?"
Severus looked at the pale boy sitting across the table. He glared at him as he tried to see the trap he was sure was waiting for him. He looked around the room for James and Sirius but they were nowhere in sight.
"I'd really like to know," Remus asked again with a small smile as he pulled another of the drawings towards him.
"My grandpa," Severus finally answered with a small sigh as he reached across again to pull the pages back.
"You like wolves?" Remus asked as he saw the drawing of a mother wolf protecting her young cubs. Severus shrugged, but didn't make a comment. What business was it of his whether he liked wolves or any other animal? But the small feeling of pleasure at the praise for his work made him hold his tongue on this one occasion.
He flipped his pencil over and used the eraser on the end of it to rub out the wing of the thestral that he had just drawn.
"Hey Remus, there you are!" Severus frowned and pulled the drawings towards his bag as he cast a nervous glance to where James Potter stood in the doorway to the library.
"Shhhh," Madam Pince glared at the intruder to her quiet library.
James waved Remus over. Severus heard him whisper "see you around" as he left the table but he didn't answer him. He kept his eyes on the door until he saw him follow James back out of the room.
"What you hanging round with him for?" he heard James ask as the door swung shut behind them silencing the rest of their conversation.
The students that had been sitting next to him had long since gone and Severus gathered his things together. He quickly skimmed through the drawings and then double-checked them. There was one missing. The owls were there, his toad, the library, the unicorn and the half-finished thestral… He counted yet again and there was still one missing.
The mother wolf and the cubs was missing, Severus realised as he checked yet again. He searched his bag and the floor and chairs to see whether he had dropped it. It was nowhere in sight. He looked to the doorway. Remus must have taken it. But why would he steal one of his drawings?
He debated whether to go after him and get it back from him. If the other boy had been alone when he had left he might have done. But Severus had no intention of asking for his drawing back in front of James.
Picking up his things he sighed and headed out of the library to send an owl to his grandfather before he forgot again.
