James made as though to leave his room, but before Severus could stop himself, he blurted out the question that was likely on everyone's mind.
It certainly was on his.
"James? How did everything go with Sirius' family?" he asked, glancing from James to Sirius.
Sirius easily sank down into one of the plush chairs, followed by James, who nodded at the others.
"You want to tell it, or shall I?" Sirius queried.
"They're your family," James replied, rather cheekily. "You have the honor."
Remus raised both eyebrows, and Peter tried to stifle a laugh. Severus hoped that he looked nonchalant, but he could hardly see his face.
"Ha." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Well, you know what blood purists my whole family is, 'cept Andromeda and Uncle Alphard."
"No, really?" James quipped. "Did you have any idea, Peter? Severus?"
Peter snorted, and Severus rolled his eyes.
"You don't say," he deadpanned. "I thought they adored muggles and muggle borns. Had them over to tea on Sundays."
It was Sirius' turn to snort. "Yeah. Well, turns out that rather played in my favor. See, as I heard from Andy, she and Uncle Alphard spouted the pure blood rubbish about how it really wasn't so terrible that I was in Gryffindor, and my closest friend is a pure blood, even if he's not part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Which matters to them, the Sacred Twenty-Eight bit, only not to the extent of being a pure blood. Nott's list was questionable at best because of some of the families that he included and didn't include. Political rubbish and all that..." Sirius shrugged. "I mean, the Weasley family is on the list, and they were burned off the tapestry eons ago. Once Dad learned that everyone in my house was at least a half blood, and my best friend was a pure blood, he wasn't quite so angry."
"That's...logical," Peter remarked. "Is he, er, the one in charge?"
Sirius snorted. "He's the head, Mum's the neck. They both know it, too. Which means that her opinion is what matters most." He paused, and after waiting (rather dramatically, Severus thought), he continued. "Dad wasn't exactly thrilled by my sorting, mind, but with this new information in hand, I reckon he rather realized that going almost a year without any communication had been a bit dramatic. It wasn't as though I'd been placed in Hufflepuff, you know, or had made best friends with muggle borns. Not," he added, quickly, "that I have anything against muggle borns. But I wasn't about to act as though I was rejecting my family's most sacred values a few days after I was sentenced to spend the next two months with them."
Severus nodded, as did the others. Truth be told, of the five of them, his views regarding muggle borns had likely been the most negative. Sure, Lily had been his best and only friend for years, but he'd rather thought that she'd shined in spite of her muggle born status.
Her handicap, as it were.
Sirius went on before Severus could continue his mental train of thought. "From what I gather, Dad tried to convince Mum that I wouldn't have been a whole lot better off in Slytherin, because they do let in half-bloods. I heard him say that the Potters were a decent sort of family, even if they weren't 'of the caliber of the Blacks,'" he added, using finger quotes. James snorted. "In short? Mum and Dad say that I'll be able to use my unfortunate sorting to make political connections, if I don't muck it up in the next six years."
"Merlin's left toe," Severus murmured. "You're not planning on becoming the next Minister of Magic, are you?"
"Not if I can help it." Sirius grinned. "But they no longer look at me like I'm a wart, although Mum's told me at least ten times how very disappointed she is in me for not letting the Hat see my true Slytherin nature. Guess she thinks I was trying to use mind control on it." He changed his voice so it went higher, and said in a hoity tooth tone, "If you had done your duty and been Sorted into the house of our ancestors for the past thousand years, we wouldn't be put through such a disgrace. Oh, what will the Lestrange family say when they hear about this! Sweet Bellatrix was as good as engaged to Rudolphus until now."
"'Sweet Bellatrix?'" Peter quoted, making a face of utter repulsion. "Er, has your mum met your cousin?"
Sirius chortled. "That's my dear mum for you. Anyway," he continued, "by the time James' parents invitation came, they decided it would be best to make a good impression, even if the Potters weren't quite as high up in the society of inbreds as us Blacks-sorry about that, mate-and they invited him over for two weeks before allowing me to come visit him. Would you say it went all right, James?"
James nodded. "If I hadn't known everything that had gone on, I would have reckoned that the Black family was a bit...odd...but I reckon that's how it is with all magical families." He chuckled. "They made me feel welcome, didn't try to poison me or take a blood oath never to talk to anyone who wasn't at least half blood, that sort of thing. I'm glad to be back home, though."
"How do you expect things will go after you return home, Sirius?" Severus wondered.
"Probably the same as they were before. Fortunately, by then, it will just be a month before I can return to school." He ran a hand through his hair. "A part of me thinks the worst is over, that things will never be like they were before I started school, but they won't ignore me after I return. I guess I'll just need to tread lightly for a bit, and spend as much time with Andromeda and Uncle Alphard as I can manage. Pity that Andromeda's entering her seventh year soon. She'll likely be married right after the end of the year."
"Is that how it usually goes? In pure blood families?" Remus asked.
"Depends," James put in. "My mum and dad waited a year after finishing school, but they were sweethearts for the last couple of years. From what Mum says, it's fairly normal for girls in rich, pure blood families to either be engaged or married less than a year after they finish at school. They usually have kids soon afterwards."
Peter coughed a bit. "D'you think that Bellatrix's boyfriend would really refuse to marry her just because of your Sorting?"
"Doubt it. Anyway, she'd hex him ten ways if he tried." Sirius glanced at his watch. "James, we better get back downstairs."
James' eyes followed Sirius'. "Yeah, we better."
"I hope they don't start eating without us!" Peter said, quickly jumping to his feet.
"Mum wouldn't allow it," James reassured them. "Dad might try to sneak a few of the tarts, though."
A few minutes later, they were back downstairs, in the midst of the chatter of their families.
They sat on one side of the table, while the adults sat on the other. Remus and James occupied the two seats which held one of their friends on one side, and an adult on another. Severus sat between Sirius and Peter, and helped himself to the food while the conversation flowed around him.
The food was delicious-Mrs. Potter's house elves were clearly on par with the Hogwarts elves in their ability to prepare meals. Or, perhaps, it was a universal skill held by elves. If you went around preparing sub-par food, and your master and mistress still had their taste buds in tact, you were likely to be either sacked, to sent to perform other chores. His mum still loved to cook, and had divided the cooking duties between herself and Pinky.
After Severus had eaten his fill, he began to pay attention to the conversations around him. It was difficult to make everything out, as there was the adult conversation as well as the one between his friends to keep track of, but he could see that the families all conversed with ease. Severus was happy that his mum seemed to fit right in, and no one seemed to take her decade long absence from the wizarding world as unusual.
In fact, if they'd known about her divorce from Tobias Snape, they kept quiet about it.
After second and third helpings, and then desserts that more than filled Severus's stomach, the plates cleared, and everyone stood. All the parents bid goodbye to their children, gave last minute hugs, and then, they were off.
"Be good, and have a lovely time," Eileen told Severus, softly, after giving him a final hug. "I'll see you in two weeks."
Severus smiled in what he hoped was a confident manner. "I'll be fine, Mum, and I promise I won't give the Potters any trouble."
She ran a hand over his short hair. "I know you won't, but as your mother, I have to say it," she replied, with a laugh. "You'll probably grow another half a foot before I see you again!"
Severus gave her another hug, more fiercely this time, and then they said their final goodbyes.
James, who was the only one of them who would remain with his parents for the duration, grinned at everyone once the adults (including his parents, who had vacated the room) were gone.
"Let's explore, shall we? Maybe we can find some hidden passageways!"
Author's note:
I haven't written the next chapter, but at this point, I plan to delve into their adventures at James's house over the next couple of weeks. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Finally, if you're enjoying this, please take a moment and leave some feedback.