Chapter Summary: Gryffindor and Slytherin have their first Quidditch match, the Gryffindor Quintet find out that the three-headed dog belongs to Hagrid and is definitely guarding something. Harry/Alex and Beth also find out some stuff about Snape from their maternal grandparents when they go home for the Christmas holidays.
After the troll incident, Hermione relaxed and wasn't as annoying as before. Knowing that she had real friends that wouldn't desert her probably was the cause of that. However, that didn't stop her and Ron from still bickering sometimes. The others didn't comment on this, as they'd realized that Ron's and Hermione's personalities were the sort that made it inevitable that they'd clash with each other but didn't stop them from being friends.
Draco Malfoy and his two cronies continued to cause trouble for the Gryffindor Quintet, though they focused more on Alex and Beth than they did the other three. Thrice Malfoy set things up in Potions class so that Alex and Beth got in trouble and were assigned detention. However, Snape knew perfectly well that the two weren't at fault, so the 'detentions' merely consisted of a few hours spent brewing potions and preparing ingredients.
When they didn't have to concentrate on the brewing, Snape told Alex some things about Lily Evans and the friendship they had, since Remus could really only tell things from when he and Lily were prefects together and later on when she was with James Potter.
"You and Mum Lily actually lived in the same town?" asked Alex in surprise when he heard that. He had settled on calling his biological mother 'Mum Lily' to differentiate her from his adoptive one. "So that means you knew her and became friends with her before Hogwarts. Uncle Niko thought you and Mum Lily had met on the Hogwarts Express and became friends that way."
"Yes, Lily and I lived in the same town," responded Snape. "And I suppose your uncle is Nikolas Petrov? He was two years above me and one of the few Slytherins that stood up for me against the Marauders. The other Slytherins would have, except they didn't like the fact that I was friends with a Gryffindor and Muggleborn."
"Professor Snape, if you don't mind, could you tell us why your friendship with Alex's Mum Lily ended?" asked Beth timidly. "Uncle Niko said it happened at the end of your fifth year, and that all he could get out of you the next day was that the friendship was ruined and she refused to forgive you."
Snape said nothing for a minute. Finally, in a tight voice, he said, "I had a run-in with the Marauders. Lily rescued me from it, but I was so upset and embarrassed that I called her a name that I didn't mean. I tried apologizing to her after, but she wouldn't listen to me, especially as I was starting to hang out with some other Slytherins that weren't nice like your uncle."
Alex could only think of one name that would upset his birth so much that she'd end a friendship, and that was 'Mudblood'. While he understood completely, he also felt that it was a rotten thing of his mother to not forgive Snape. Things could have turned out very differently if she hadn't ended the friendship. And besides, Snape didn't mean what he'd said, and it had been said only in anger and embarrassment. After all, Hermione forgave Ron for the stuff he'd said about her in anger. Then again, he hadn't called her a 'Mudblood', and the incident with the troll followed after he'd apologized, so the situation wasn't quite the same.
Alex opened his mouth to voice his thoughts, but Beth nudged him into silence. He looked at her, confused, then realized that she had sensed that it was a touchy subject for Snape and he probably didn't want to get any further into it. The rest of the 'detention' continued in silence, except for whenever one of them asked for an ingredient or tool to be passed over.
When the two were heading back to the common room, Alex said quietly, "I would never end a friendship unless my friend betrayed me, like Sirius Black did to my birth parents. I understand why Mum Lily did what she did, but I couldn't do that. It's obvious Professor Snape never got over it."
Beth nodded. "But if the friendship didn't end, do you think she would have ended up with James Potter? I get the feeling that Professor Snape might have developed feelings beyond friendship for her, and if they had remained together, maybe she would have returned them. Then you would never be born, or you'd be Harry Snape, not Harry Potter."
Alex shuddered at the thought, then hastily changed the subject. "Did you notice that Professor Snape was limping? I wonder what happened to his leg."
"Who knows?" replied Beth with a shrug. "Maybe he twisted his ankle or something and hasn't gotten around to having Madam Pomfrey mend it."
The reason for Snape's limping was answered the next day, courtesy of Ivan. At dinnertime, he told his cousins that he had to see Professor Snape about something. However, the Head of Slytherin wasn't in his office, so Ivan had then gone to the staff room. He found Snape there, being handed bandages by Filch for a leg injury, and making a comment about how hard it was to keep track of three heads at once. After that, Snape had spotted Ivan and instantly lowered his robes over the injured leg. When Ivan stammered that he had a matter to disciss with Snape, the head had snapped for him to leave and that they'd talk later.
The Gryffindor Quintet surmised that Snape had faced the three-headed dog, and that the troll on Halloween must have been set loose as a diversion. However, they didn't know if Snape was after whatever it was the Cerberus guarding, or if he was trying to stop the person that was. His public persona made him seem like the former type, but his private persona was more the latter. Also, Ivan said that he didn't think his Head of House would do anything evil like that, and that in private with the Slytherins, he was just and a fair, though quite strict like McGonagall. The only problem was that none of them had any real idea as to who would be after whatever was hidden. Yes, Professor Quirrell was the one that reported the troll, but he was scared of just about anything, including his own shadow, and so didn't seem the type. In the end, the matter was dropped.
The second Saturday in November was the first Quidditch match, between Gryffindor and Slytherin. It turned out not so great for the Gryffindors, and Alex felt frustrated watching in the stands, wishing that he was a full member or that McClaggen had gotten sick or a detention so that he could substitute for him. The Gryffindor Chasers were very good, Oliver Wood was able to block most of Slytherin's attempts at scoring, and the Weasley twins were fantastic Beaters, but McClaggen was simply awful. Half the time he didn't even look for the Snitch and tried telling the rest of the team what to do. Wood yelled at him, but this didn't have much affect on him.
Finally, in complete exasperation, one the Weasley twins hit a Bludger at McClaggen, effectively knocking him out. It was clear that he wasn't going to catch the Snitch regardless, so the Gryffindor team decided that they'd rather just play without him. Five minutes after that, Terrence Higgs, the Slytherin Seeker, caught the Snitch, ending the game. Slytherin won, one hundred ninety points to one hundred twenty, so the loss wasn't too bad for Gryffindor.
From the look on McGonagall's face, Alex suspected that she would do something to keep McClaggen from playing in Gryffindor's next match, such as giving him a detention, so that Alex would have to play instead. This didn't bother him, as he really wanted to play in a match, and McClaggen was really awful. Even if he played a position that he was suited for, he still probably wouldn't do a good job, as he'd be too busy trying to tell everyone else what to do and acting as if he was the Captain instead of Wood.
After the match, the Gryffindor Quintet went to visit Hagrid, who served them tea, sandwiches, and treacle fudge. While they were talking, Alex suddenly remembered that Hagrid had a fondness for large and dangerous animals. "Hagrid, do you happen to know why there's a three-headed dog guarding something at Hogwarts?"
Hagrid dropped his mug in shock. "How do yeh know abou' Fluffy?"
"Fluffy?" asked Ron incredulously. "That beast has a name?"
"Yeah," answered Hagrid. "He's mine,— bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year — I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the —"
"Guard the what?" asked Neville eagerly.
"Now, don't ask me anymore," said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."
"Well, someone is after whatever's hidden," said Hermione. "It could be Snape, since he had a run-in with Fluffy, or someone else is and Snape was trying to stop him or her."
"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "Snape isn't after it, and neither is anyone else! Now, listen to me, all tive of yeh — yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel —"
"Ah!" exclaimed Beth, "so there's someone named Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"
Hagrid looked furious with himself and shortly after, shooed the quintet out of his house.
The next couple of weeks the Gryffindor Quintet spent much of their spare time in the library, trying to find out who Nicolas Flamel was. Alex remembered reading the name somewhere, but he couldn't remember where. However, it was quite difficult, since there were thousands upon thousands of books in the library, and they didn't know what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book. He wasn't in Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, or Notable Magical Names of Our Time; he was missing, too, from Important Modern Magical Discoveries, and A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry.
While this was going on, Hanukkah arrived. Aunt Sarah sent a couple of packages of latkes, doughnuts, and other fried foods, which Beth and Alex shared around with their friends, and small gifts of books, hats, and scarves. Vera and Ivan, who had a Jewish upbringing along with the Romany one, lit the menorah every evening for the entire eight nights and recited the customary prayers, while their cousins and friends watched on. Anthony Goldstein, a Ravenclaw first-year, joined them, as he was also Jewish.
The Christmas holidays arrived not long after that and most of the student population went home. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to Romania to visit Charlie, so Ron was staying with Alex's family for the holidays, while Fred and George were at Ivan's house and Percy was at Cara's home.
The first evening back, Beth asked the rest of the family and Remus if they knew who Nicolas Flamel was, claiming that she had come across the name in a book, but didn't know anything more about him. Aunt Maria replied, "If I remember correctly, he's an alchemist. Isn't that right, Ana? You know more about potion-related subjects than I do."
Ana nodded. "Yes, he's an alchemist. He's the only known creator of the Philosopher's Stone, an object that can turn any metal into gold and produce the Elixir of Life, which enables the drinker to be immortal. Or at least, immortal as long as he or she continues to take the Elixir every so often."
"So that's what must be hidden at Hogwarts!" burst out Alex.
"What are you talking about, Alex?" asked Grandmum Lise.
With a sigh, Alex explained everything, with some help from Beth, Ron, and Ivan. When they finished, Stephan said, "Well, now that you've figured things out, please don't go any further into it. You're meddling in things that don't concern you, like Hagrid said. However, we will speak to Professor Dumbledore about the advisability of hiding the Philosopher's Stone in a school full of children, even if Hogwarts is the safest place to hide something, along with Gringotts."
"And Severus Snape would never go after the Stone," said Granddad Vladek firmly. "He may have made mistakes in his life, but he would never go against Dumbledore."
"Nor would he ever want eternal life, from what I've seen of him," added Granny Ilsa.
"How would you know that?" asked Beth.
"We just know," said Granny Ilsa, and her tone of voice made it clear that the subject was closed.
After dinner, however, Granny Ilsa and Granddad Vladek took Alex and Beth aside. Granddad Vladek said, "What we are about to tell you must not be spread around. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Granddad Vladek," replied the 'twins' at the same time.
Granny Ilsa sighed deeply. "Severus Snape's childhood wasn't as wonderful as yours. He may have had Lily for a friend and a mother that loved him, but his father wasn't exactly nice. Tobias Snape was a Muggle, and sometime after his marriage to Eileen Prince, he started hating magic. I gather he also started drinking. I suppose you can guess what happened."
Alex winced. "So Professor Snape's childhood was like what mine might have been if my biological relatives had decided to keep me. That's awful!"
Granny Ilsa nodded and continued, "Severus's mother died sometime during his fifth year at Hogwarts. Then his friendship with Lily Potter ended. Your Uncle Niko became very concerned for him, and as he already suspected that Severus didn't have a good home life, insisted on having him stay with us for the summer holidays."
Granddad Vladek shook his head. "Poor Severus. He really was quite awful, but Ilsa and I were able to help him. He eventually opened up to us somewhat, and I guess he started seeing us as surrogate parents by the end of the holidays. Unfortunately, the other Slytherins were a bad influence on him during his last two years at Hogwarts, and he made a horrible mistake not long after he graduated. We had told him that he was free to come to us if he needed anything at all, so he appeared on our doorstep right after he'd made the mistake."
"What was the horrible mistake?" asked Alex.
Granny Ilsa sighed again. "He got caught up with supporters of You-Know-Who, and ended up taking the Dark Mark. Once he did, he felt awful about it, and not knowing who else to turn to, came to us. We took him in, did our best to heal him, and made it very clear that we didn't blame him at all for his actions. Vladek taught him Occulemency so that You-Know-Who wouldn't be able to look into his mind and see that he regretted what he did, and Severus pretended to be a loyal Death Eater. Fortunately, his skills as a Potions Master was greatly valued, so he rarely had to take part in any of the atrocities that You-Know-Who instigated. Severus passed on information of the Death Eater's activities whenever he could, which we in turn told Dumbledore, who then saw to preventing them from happening."
"After it turned out that You-Know-Who was going to target you and your biological parents, Alex, Severus came to us again," said Granddad Vladek. "However, there was nothing we could do about it, so we advised him to go to Professor Dumbledore. Ever since then, Severus has been a spy for Professor Dumbledore, and for the sake of your birth mother, has vowed to do his best to protect you. Obviously he wasn't told about you until you started Hogwarts, but the one Christmas he spent with us, right after You-Know-Who's defeat, we did tell him that we had seen to it that you were safe and well. That helped comfort him somewhat over Lily's death. Ever since, he will occasionally write to us, and we write back and Ilsa sends him packages of food. We've invited him to visit us, but he generally refuses, saying that he's busy with things for Dumbledore or his classes, or brewing potions for the Hospital Wing."
Alex and Beth exchanged looks. "Poor Professor Snape," said Beth softly. "No wonder he's the way he is."
Alex shuddered, knowing that things could have been very different if the Dursleys had decide to keep him despite their not wanting him. His childhood could have been like Professor Snape's. Actually, it could have been worse, since Snape had a mother that loved him and no doubt did her best to protect him from his father, but Alex's biological aunt and uncle both hated magic and so there would have been nobody he could turn to. Then once he got to Hogwarts, he would probably either make friends with the wrong people because he was desperate to have some, or he'd be wary of others and not have real friends at all.
Granny Ilsa must have guessed what Alex was thinking, for she pulled him in a tight hug and said soothingly, "Don't dwell too much on what could have happened, Alex. Things turn out the way they do for a reason and we can't change it once it happens. You were lucky enough to have a good childhood, while Severus was unfortunate enough to have a bad one."
"All right, Granny Ilsa," said Alex quietly, suddenly remembering that his grandparents didn't always have wonderful lives. After all, they had survived the Holocaust and World War II, while the rest of their families hadn't been so lucky. Granny Ilsa's parents had been Squibs, which was why they couldn't use magic to escape the Nazis, and she had only survived due to luck and determination and the fact that she and Grandmum Lise were friends and stayed together, helping each other whenever possible.
After a couple minutes of silence, Beth and Alex left the room, thinking about what their maternal grandparents had told them about Professor Snape.