War Drums

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1968 – 1972

Arthur and Molly did indeed stand the test of time – though not without a fair few rather explosive arguments. Septimus actually counted those fights in the 'win' column, because prior to becoming involved with Molly, Arthur had been quiet and laid back enough to simply refuse to argue at all. He'd allowed other kids to sort of railroad right over him without meaning to. That Molly had gotten him to the point where he'd stand his ground and fight was actually a good thing.

They married straight out of Hogwarts, and found a small, fixer-upper home within their financial means. Between them, they spent the next year sprucing the place up into quite a nice home, and named it 'The Burrow'.

Six months after Arthur and Molly married, Lord Voldemort made himself known to the general public.

Much to Septimus' horror, it was very much like listening to Hitler's broadcasts all over again, hearing what Voldemort had to say and how. He was smooth, and clever, and convincing. He wooed and schmoozed the purebloods. He catered to their phobias and perceptions of their superiority and importance. He played on their fears and blew pretty much everything out of proportion. He made it seem like every concession made for Muggleborns was a sign of the End of Days or something.

Septimus was willing to grant that many of Dumbledore's desired concessions weren't good news. They were a far cry from Ragnarok however, no matter what Voldemort was whispering in the ears of his followers. Followers he had in plenty, and gained more practically daily. A lot of people were listening to what he had to say and agreeing with him.

In the space of two years, the Neutral party all but disappeared. It was down to only a handful of families as everyone else in the Wizengamot polarized. The Wizengamot also weaponized, developing a distinct 'if you're not with us, you're the enemy' mentality. This was far more antagonistic than the more normal 'if you're not on my side, you're an opponent' mentality. By nineteen seventy, it had become a damn good thing that dueling in the Wizengamot resulted in an Azkaban sentence, as Septimus was very sure that many a session would have devolved into a series of duels otherwise.

The pressure on the remaining Neutral families was immense. Especially on Arcturus as the Head of the most populous and thus truly most influential House. He came under an unprecedented amount of fire from both sides. The Light side condemned him as a Dark supporter pretending he was otherwise. The Dark side alternated between condemning him as a Light supporter and trying to get him back to the Dark side of the fence by various means.

The good news was that in 1971 James and Sirius started Hogwarts. They had become all but inseparable over the years. Fortunately for Sirius, the Occlumency training and potions regimen Arcturus had begun when Sirius was still a toddler were paying off. Sirius was still a little emotionally unstable, but it had improved considerably. He had improved enough that it was easy to mistake him as merely being a bit of a wild child, rather than mentally unbalanced. Septimus was glad for his sake. Regulus, by some miracle, seemed to have escaped any unfortunate side-effects from inbreeding, though Arcturus was still keeping a careful eye on him. There was no telling when a problem would make itself known.

Things got … rather interesting rather quickly once they boys were headed to Hogwarts. Charlus received a letter from his son before the train had even gotten to Hogwarts. He talked to Septimus and Harfang about it later that afternoon, concerned about its contents.

In the letter, James expressed concern about two boys he'd met shortly after Charlus and Dorea had seen him onto the train. Both boys were evidently half-bloods, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was, at least according to James, that both boys were clothed in really tatty third-hand clothes … and there were some suspicious bruises on one of the boy's arms and face. James hadn't liked the look of it, nor some of the offhand comments the bruised boy had made, and had immediately written his father, worried for the boy's welfare. The good news was that the bruised boy had some sort of support, as he'd come on the train accompanied by a red-haired Muggleborn he was clearly very close friends with.

Unfortunately, there wasn't all that much that the Marauders could do about the two boys' financial issues right then. Worse, without firm proof the one boy was being abused, they couldn't do anything about the bruises, either. That said, the elder Marauders were determined to provide both boys with a refuge, and planned to include the two boys in the group's Yule celebrations if the two boys remained at all friendly with James and Sirius.

Charlus got a second letter that evening before Septimus and Harfang had left. The letter reported that the boy they suspected might be abused, whose name was Severus Snape, had gotten Sorted into Ravenclaw. Severus' female friend, Lily Evans, and the other poor boy, Remus Lupin, were both Sorted into Gryffindor, much to James and Sirius' pleasure.

They were pleased because with the two in Gryffindor (where James and Sirius both had been Sorted) they would be able to keep an eye on them and protect them. Severus, according to them, would be a bit tougher to keep an eye on, being in a different House. Fortunately, the Marauders knew that Flitwick was the most likely teacher to stomp all over bullying if he knew it was happening, so that would help the boys keep Severus safe.

James admitted in a letter some weeks later that there'd been a long, heated discussion on the train about Slytherin, and the qualities it espoused. According to that later letter, James said it took nearly the whole train ride but he had managed to convince Severus that while there was nothing wrong with cunning and ambition, he'd be in for a really bad time in Slytherin House because he was a half-blood. That it was not Severus' fault so many Slytherins were bigoted idiots, but that he would have been miserable there.

The boys kept them abreast of events in the school, which was good. Mostly because if things were getting dangerously out of hand in the larger world, it was completely out of control in Hogwarts. According to James and Sirius' letters, the Marauders were to the point of needing a group in every year just to deal with all the problems that kept cropping up. Certain Slytherins had become an unrepentant menace to everyone. That said, the Marauders were almost as busy dealing with the Gryffindors – who invariably went overboard in their attempts to counteract Slytherin bullying – as they were dealing with the Slytherins themselves.

Sirius reported in one of his letters that the only good news was that all the nonsense with the Slytherins had completely convinced Severus that James and Sirius had been right about Slytherin House. Evidently, Severus had begun muttering almost nonstop about that House forsaking their House attributes after all of two weeks of watching them bully everyone in sight. He had also started joining James and Sirius in planning pranks.

In November of that year, Arthur and Molly had their first child, a boy they named William. Septimus was slightly concerned at how early they had started having children, but not too much. Arthur had managed to forge himself a more than capable career in the Muggle Artifacts office of the Ministry with a good salary. Molly was supplementing their income by cooking for several elderly Muggles near their home, raising and selling chickens, eggs, and pork, as well as knitting things that she then sold. Between them, they were managing to cover expenses and put money away, despite having young William to raise.

By December, it became clear that Severus, Remus, and Lily were going to be fast friends with James and Sirius, so the lot of them were invited to Potter Castle for Yule, along with the elder Marauders. Cedrella spent a half hour around Severus and was completely horrified. To be honest, so was Septimus. As bad as Severus' situation had seemed as reported by James in that first letter, the reality was worse.

Severus was, to put it bluntly, extremely leery of Septimus, and only marginally less so of Harfang and Charlus. It didn't take much intelligence to figure out why. Septimus was fractionally taller than either of the other men, and definitely more muscular. He had also never lost his fighter's prowl, which Charlus had lost completely early on thanks to his injury. Harfang's had eventually faded away a few years after they'd returned from the war as he'd never really been a warrior at heart like Septimus. Septimus was aware that he tended to cut a rather intimidating figure to people who didn't know him well, and even sometimes to those that did. Still, it hurt Septimus' heart to see the boy flinch away from him like he was expecting a blow if Septimus accidentally surprised the poor kid.

Remus proved to be surprisingly quiet and almost shy. Septimus suspected he knew the reason for the apparent shyness. James and Sirius had reported the boy's illnesses over the last few months. The oddly consistent timing had tweaked Septimus' curiosity enough to investigate. It hadn't taken long to stumble onto what was probably going on. Septimus certainly wasn't about to treat the lad badly for it, if it was true. It wasn't like the poor kid had chosen for it to happen. Nor was he going to inform the boys, at least not until they figured it out themselves or Remus told them. Hopefully Remus would confide in them first.

Both Septimus and Cedrella were more than slightly amused at Lily. Unlike the two boys, Lily was all passion, fire, and ebullience. She definitely lived up to the reputation of red-heads. She also acted as Severus' guard dog. It was clear that she was aware that something was wrong, at the very least, if she didn't know for a fact Severus was being abused. As a result, she was fiercely protective of him, and was prone to lashing out in his defense. Interestingly, Severus seemed more than happy to let her.

The three adult couples spent the Yule holiday getting to know the three children, and introducing them to the traditional celebrations. On the second to last day of the holiday, Cedrella approached Severus, as both she and Septimus agreed it was a bad idea for him to do so, at least for now.

(_)(_)(_)

"Severus? Might I speak with you in private for a moment?" Cedrella asked Severus.

He looked wary, but agreed. Cedrella strongly suspected only out of a concern that he would be coerced or even punished if he disagreed. Once they were in a private room, she settled on a chair.

"Severus it has become clear to us that your home life might be less than ideal. The Potters, Longbottoms, my husband and I have all talked and we're all willing to provide you with assistance, if you want it. That assistance can come in a number of forms." Cedrella told him.

Severus cocked his head at her a bit, clearly trying to figure out what her angle was, before he finally asked. "What forms?"

"Well, we can simply provide you a place to go on the winter and Easter holidays so that you don't have to return home, or stay at Hogwarts unless you want to. That, we will do anyway, no matter what you decide. You will always be welcome in our homes over the holidays, the same as the boys' other friends." Cedrella told him.

"Alternately, one of us could sponsor you. That would involve taking over the financial responsibility for your education during your Hogwarts years, and help you find an apprenticeship that suits your skills once you graduate. Your third choice would be for one of us to become your magical guardian. It's a fairly rarely-used clause for the protection of abused children that allows for them to be removed from the abusive environment and live somewhere more suitable. It is primarily for those with Muggle parents who develop a distaste for magic, though there have been a few cases of abuse among purebloods." Cedrella said.

"You would then live with whichever couple you chose and essentially become an adopted child of their House. It is even possible for you to officially be blood-adopted, provided both you and the family in question desire it, and their Head of House agrees. Fortunately, in this case, Septimus, Harfang, and Charlus are the Heads of their respective Houses." Cedrella grinned at Severus.

Severus stared at her like she'd just told him the sky was orange and the sun rose in the west. "I … you … *why*?"

"Because we care, lad, and none of us is happy with your situation. I imagine Harfang is going to have a fairly similar conversation with Remus later today." Cedrella told him. "None of our husbands like seeing underdogs getting trampled on, and are known for getting between them and their oppressors."

"I … I'll think about it." Severus said at last.

"Let us know at any time when you make up your mind – or need help. Even if it's two days before the next school year starts." Cedrella told him, then wisely left the situation at that. She could only hope he'd take them up on their offer.