Chapter Four: Home From the Holidays

'Eleven o'clock, Jim,' the young porter said. 'First of September.'

'Don't I know it, lad,' Jim grumbled. 'Nearly called in sick today. I'm getting too old for this oddness.' His eyes narrowed as he watched a family of weirdos cross the concourse; sweeping brooms and cats and trailing robes all present and correct. It really took the biscuit.

He sneezed. And when he looked back, the family had vanished.

'Where do they all go, Jim?'

'I dunno, lad. And I tell you this, I'm not sure I want to know.'

…

Remus and his dad stowed his trunk and then got down from the train for a final goodbye. James was standing nearby with his parents, though Remus was still too embarrassed to meet their eyes.

'I'll just go over to say "hello"', Lyall was saying.

'No, dad.' (He hadn't mentioned to his dad what had happened - and had pretended he was so green about the gills, when he got home, because the journey using floo powder had been a rough one.)

'It's only polite.'

'Look - there's Pete's mum. Say "Hi" to her instead.'

But Lyall only laughed. 'I think you boys are all close enough that we parents can talk to each other in a group.' And, with his hand stretched out ready to shake Mr. Potter's, he headed over to where James and his family were standing. Remus lurked uncomfortably behind him.

Mrs. Pettigrew joined the group. Peter looked equally uncomfortable. 'Hello, everyone - ready for the new year, boys?' she smiled at Remus and James. 'Good to see you're all here. Apart from-' she craned her neck looking up and down the platform. 'Well, it would be nice to meet young Sirius's family.'

'I'm not sure "nice" is the right word for it,' Mr. Potter said. Mrs. Potter slapped him on the arm, but Mr. Lupin laughed in agreement.

'Well - they could at least do the decent thing and deign to notice our existence, seeing as how their son lives with ours nine months out of the year,' Mrs. Pettigrew sniffed.

'They don't deign to notice Sirius - never mind us,' James said.

Mrs Potter and Mrs. Pettigrew looked troubled, while Mr. Potter and Mr. Lupin laughed.

'You will make sure you invite him to Christmas, won't you, Jimmy, dear?' Mrs. Potter sounded anxious when she said it.

'Yes mum.'

'I don't like the thought of leaving him in London with - well …' She sighed sadly and then her tone became stern. 'Just as long as there's no repeat of last week.'

'What happened last week?' Lyall asked.

But to Remus's great relief, the train whistle shrieked, shrill and piercing, just then - and there was no time to answer as, with final hugs and promises to write, the three boys had to scramble aboard or get left behind. They hung out of the window waving, until their parents were out of sight - and then went to find seats, Remus very much hoping that his father would not ask again what had happened last week, now the boys were out of the way.

'I hope Sirius got onto the train alright,' he said, as they found themselves an empty compartment and settled down.

'Me too - I've got his bloody toaster in my trunk. Nutter.' James shook his head at the madness of Sirius. Sirius had left the toaster with James, as his own mother was sure to confiscate it if he took it home. Walburga Black did not allow muggle contraptions in her house.

It was about five minutes later that the door slid open and the man himself appeared. 'Here you are! I've been looking everywhere. I thought I was gonna have to go back and sit with Reg - the foul little git. Shove over Remus.' He pushed Remus further along the bench and took his place. 'Do you have the paper?'

'I've been saving the crossword for you.'

'So how is dear Regulus Bowel Movements Black?' James asked, as Sirius settled down. 'And all the other esteemed members of that Noble and Most Ancient House?'

They all sniggered. 'Foul as ever. Guess what?'

'What?' they all chorused.

'My mum didn't even buy me a broomstick. Again . And that's not even the worst of it - you won't believe this…'

'What?'

'She didn't sign my Hogsmeade form!'

'What?'

'No!'

The other three gaped at him in horror. 'She has to sign your Hogsmeade form,' James said.

'Well - she didn't.' He shrugged and then stretched nonchalantly - as if this were no big deal. But his eyes were dark. He was angry and hurt and keeping it inside, pretending not to care. And that spelled trouble - because sooner or later that anger would burst outwards and manifest in something dangerous or stupid … and Sirius was already only a wand's width away from being expelled as it was.

'Well - we won't go to Hogsmeade without you, will we, men?'

'Don't be soft - of course you have to go.'

'Well - one of us will always stay behind and the other two will go - Remus? Pete?' The other two nodded.

'No.' He shook his head and he sounded quite final about it. 'No one is missing out just because my mum is an evil, old hag. I won't have it. I won't have you feeling sorry for me.' And he looked so fierce as he said that, that Peter actually squeaked - which only earned him an extra glower just for him.

'Well - the first Hogsmeade weekend won't be for ages anyway,' Remus said, trying to smooth things over now the atmosphere in the compartment had turned a little grim. 'So we won't worry about it yet. We'll have all sorts of detentions and full moons,' he lowered his voice for that part, 'to get through. Plus our new classes. And James will have Quidditch tryouts. We can't afford to think too far ahead.'

'Exactly. When is the next full moon?' Sirius seemed pleased to have found a change of subject so - although the thought of it filled him with dread - Remus let the conversation drift that way.

'The twelfth - it's a week on Wednesday.'

'That's a bugger - so close to the beginning of term.'

'I know - just as classes will really be getting into the swing, and homework will be piling up - and I'll be off…' he trailed off, not knowing quite how to finish that sentence.

'Dealing with your furry little problem?' James suggested.

Remus threw the newspaper at him (it was the only thing he had to hand). 'I told you not to call it that.'

'Suck it up, Moony.'

Remus retrieved the paper and then hit James over the head with it, 'and I told you not to call me that.' But he was grinning, and the others were laughing - and Sirius's simmering resentment seemed to be forgotten for now.

…

After lunch, James bored them all silly, discussing in minute detail his chances of getting back on the Gryffindor Quidditch team this year. He had played as a reserve in the cup final and won them the match last year … only the fact that Sirius had half murdered the real Gryffindor chaser in order to get James on the team had caused James to be disqualified and for the championship to be taken away (and given to Slytherin - which was the worst part of all of it!).

James was torn between thinking no one would want him on the team because Sirius was a nutter, and being utterly confident that Gryffindor could not manage without him and that his utter brilliance on the pitch would mean everyone would overlook the unfortunate happenstance of his having an unstable would-be murderer for a best friend.

'Sirius didn't mean to kill anybody,' Remus said, feeling the other boy start to tense up beside him, as James blithely chatted away with his foot in his mouth, unheeding of how his raking up the past was tickling the sleeping dragon that was Sirius's temper. 'He didn't know how badly that mace would land on Morgana. It was bad luck.'

'It was bad luck that cost us the whole tournament. And whoever the new captain is won't forget it in a hurry.'

Sirius's foot began to tap on the floor.

'The new captain will be Beth Ellshaw,' Remus said, glancing at Sirius. 'And she knows how good you are, James. She wants Gryffindor to win - that will be her only concern. So if you're the best at tryouts…'

' Of course I'll be the best at tryouts.'

'Then you'll definitely get on the team. Now - can we talk about something else? Or do something else? Sirius? Crossword?'

'Yeah … yes…' seeming like it cost him great effort, Sirius stilled his foot from tapping. 'I'd like to do the crossword.'

'Oh - I hate it when you do the crossword,' James sighed.

'Only because you're too thick to join in.'

'No - you're just like a grandma - doing your word puzzles. You should take up knitting as well. Really go for it. You could knit me a hat to keep my ears warm when I play Quidditch.'

'There's not enough wool in the world to knit a hat big enough for your swollen head.'

'I'm not big headed - I just know I'm brilliant.'

Sirius stared at him - caught between amusement and exasperation. Then he shook his head and turned back to Remus. 'So - crossword?'

James tutted. He opened his bag, took out a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages and, grumbling to himself, started to read his book. Peter took out his comic and quill and began to sketch and that left Sirius and Remus to settle down together with the newspaper open and discuss the clues for today's crossword.

'Have you seen this?' Sirius asked after a while, tapping the article on the next page. Remus glanced at it.

A Lordly Request

He read. The other two looked up. 'What is it?' James asked.

'Another article about Lord Voldemort by the looks of things,' Remus told him - and he began to read:

Following the riot which broke out in the heart of the Ministry itself just ten days ago, the instigators of the fracas have held out a hand of friendship to the Minister, asking for a truce.

'We just want an opportunity to meet with her,' says spokesperson Septimus Selwyn, 52. 'We have grave concerns about the direction our little nation is taking and - at the end of the day - we have to ask: for whom does the government govern? For if it is for the people, then they must listen to us. And if it is for themselves- then - well - we must have a new government.'

When asked if he truly believes that Minister Jenkins owes it to the hooligans who destroyed her atrium to meet them in person, Selwyn merely shrugs. 'Things got out of hand. It was regrettable. But Jenkins must understand that that is because feelings are running high. Our concerns are genuine and mounting and if she will not listen to them then she will suffer the fate of all politicians who ignore their people. I do not say that as a threat - we fully support the smooth running of the Ministry - but it is a fact. She serves the people, and must give the people what they want.'

And what "the people" want - it would seem - is for Jenkins to hold a meeting with the leader of The Knights of Walpurgis, himself - a shadowy figure, never seen in public, who is spoken of only as "The Dark Lord".

'When he is ready - he will speak to us all,' says Selwyn. 'But matters are too critical and too delicate for The Knights of Walpurgis to simply rush in. These things take time, we appreciate that. But following on from our meeting ten days ago we have had a flood of witches and wizards signing up and rallying to our cause. We are a powerful movement, and therefore our leader is a powerful man - and it would behove the Minister to meet with him, to grant him certain assurances, before he goes public. For rest assured - once The Dark Lord himself stands in the public eye, no one will stand in his way.'

'And then it just lists the demands they made at the riot - about better rights for purebloods and no rights for muggleborns,' Remus finished up.

'He's still hiding in the shadows isn't he?' James said. 'This Voldemort. Still letting everyone else do his dirty work, take the heat.'

Sirius snorted, 'what an absolute ponce!'

'Did - did Mable Grable write that article?' Peter asked, looking troubled.

Remus glanced down, 'yes - why?'

'It's just - well - don't you think he lacked her usual punch?' He looked around at the others. 'Normally - well, you know how spiteful she can be - all her catty little asides. Does no one else think this was… a bit less poisonous than usual?'

'Isn't that a good thing?' James asked.

But Peter shook his head. 'No - see - Mable's horrible. She enjoys being horrible, same as Rita Skeeter. If she isn't being horrible about someone - well - I think it might be because she is afraid of them. Really afraid.'

'Or the Prophet has been infiltrated,' Remus said slowly. 'Think about all the op eds we've been having for the past year. Maybe it isn't just Malfoy flashing his cash and bribing the editor, maybe someone at the paper agrees with them. Maybe Mable is being leaned on as to how she reports it.'

'And maybe it's a bit of both,' Peter nodded.

'And whatever they write in the paper - that's how people make up their minds,' Sirius said slowly. 'How they decide what to believe. And if the Prophet comes down hard on the Ministry and goes soft on Voldemort…'

'Then people will follow Voldemort,' James finished up. He snorted in disgust. 'People can be such idiots.'

'Tell me about it - every time I came to do the crossword last week I kept finding bits of the newspaper cut out. I think they were articles about this - I think someone in my family is starting a scrap book of all the hideous stuff they're getting up to.'

'Maybe they're keeping it as evidence against the Dark Lord,' Peter suggested.

But that only made Sirius snort in derision. 'Don't be soft, Pete! They're doing it because they love him. What did Jenkins say about Voldemort's request, Remus?'

Remus looked back down at the paper. 'She didn't meet him, but the Ministry declined to give the paper a comment.'

'She still isn't doing anything! ' James punched the armrest of his seat in frustration. 'Why isn't she doing anything?'

'Because it's not just Mable Grable who's afraid.' And they all sank into a gloomy silence.

…

The journey lasted for many hours more. Sirius and Remus finished the crossword, they all had a game of exploding snap and were just starting to come up with some really good ways they could hex the Slytherins this year, when the disembodied voice telling them they were nearing the school floated through the compartment.

'Excellent, I'm starving - hope the feast is good,' James said.

The train chugged into the tiny station, and - leaving their trunks behind, as instructed - they scrambled off the train and followed the crowds of older students heading to the carriages. Hagrid's familiar cry of: 'Firs' years - Firs' years, this way!' boomed over their heads, and a nervous gaggle of eleven year olds gathered around him.

'It'll be good to come back down and explore the village,' James said, as their carriage pulled by an invisible horse started its slow way up the winding path to the castle. 'It's always dark when we get here and we never get to see any of it - I want to get inside Honeydukes. They have the most …' he glanced at Sirius and trailed off. 'I mean…'

'It's alright, James. You don't have to not mention Hogsmeade in front of me. You're allowed to look forward to it.'

'Nah - won't be any fun without you anyway.'

That made Sirius smile.

They rounded a corner and suddenly Hogwarts was right in front of them, a dark and massive silhouette against the fattening moon, and then illuminated from the inside by a thousand candles. It was dramatic and imposing … and home.

'Hogsmeade or not, it's just good to be back,' Remus said. 'And if we could try not to get almost expelled this year…'

'Oh - what's the fun in life without a little danger?' Sirius laughed. 'Anyway - the Slytherins have it coming. They shouldn't be such slimy, evil gits - it's like they want us to hex them.'

'Yeah - if Snivellus doesn't want us to flush his head down the toilet, he should wash his hair once in a while. All that grease, what are we meant to do? - It's like waving a greasy, red rag in front of a bull.'

'Oh James, maybe we should try and be a bit more grown up? We are third years now.'

'You grow up, Moony. I'm jinxing Snivellus.'

The carriage came to a stop outside the large, oak front doors of the castle - and they all clambered out and pushed their way through the crowd, through the entrance hall with its marble staircase and under the four hour glasses filled with gems which kept a running tally of all the house points earned and lost throughout the year.

They made their way into the Great Hall and took their seats at the Gryffindor table. 'I hope the first years hurry up - have I mentioned that I'm starving?' James said. But as always, they had to wait for the nervous and trembling group of new students to cross the Black Lake with Hagrid, and enter the hall and wait to be sorted. They looked unusually pale and small this year, and Remus wondered if he had ever really been that pale and small and scared - or if this year's bunch were a particularly titchy, twitchy lot.

Up at the front of the hall, Big Macca placed the familiar four legged stool down in front of the line of assembled first years, and then put a wizard's hat on top of that. It was a very tattered, torn, frayed and grimy looking wizard's hat - but it wasn't the dirt which made it unusual (though it was a sign of its great age). It was the fact that this hat was sentient - and was the one who chose which house a young witch or wizard belonged in - which made it truly special.

Sure enough, when the Hall had grown quiet and all eyes were on it, a seam opened up in the hat's brim - and it began to sing:

This school was founded years ago

By four friends firm and true

To teach young wizards all they know

Was what they aimed to do.

Each valued different things inside

The hearts of those they taught

And all their pupils did divide

And in-to four houses sort

But naught in life can last forever

And that includes the life of man

So to keep alive their own endeavours

My own charmed life began

You see I am the Hogwarts sorting hat

And I look within your mind

I see your hopes and fears, and with that

Your path I help you find

Perhaps you're among the brave and bold

And pluck makes your heart soar

If you love the heroic tales of old

You might belong in Gryffindor

But just as good and twice as kind

Is the house for those of honest stuff

If justice is what delights your mind

You could be a Hufflepuff

And if you're clever, witty and bright

And learning is your law

Then the house to lead you to the light

Is that of Ravenclaw

Then if you're cunning and ambitious

Always looking for that win

Then today is meretricious

For you can be a Slytherin

So try me on and don't be shy

For I've never got it wrong

I know the wheres I know the why

Of where each of you belong!

The whole school broke out in applause once it was finished. 'You know Slytherin are an evil lot,' Sirius leaned across and whispered to the others, as McGonagall read out the name of the first student to be sorted, 'when even the hat can't come up with anything good to say about them…'

Just then, "Brown, Callum" became the first student to be sorted into Gryffindor - and Sirius broke off to thump the table and cheer. He then switched to sneering, jeering and making rude hand gestures when "Caulfield, Mathew" was sorted into Slytherin.

Once the sorting was over (and Big Macca had sent more than a few thin lipped glares in the direction of Sirius for his raucous behaviour - of which he paid no heed) Dumbledore got to his feet and spread his arms in welcome.

'How wonderful it is to see you all here, safely home, safely back on the path towards knowledge. And whether this next year will be plain sailing to the horizons of wisdom, or an adventurous struggle through the thorny thickets of comprehension, only time will tell. But whatever awaits, may we all end up more enlightened than when we started.' He smiled around at them for a moment, before his face fell into a more serious expression.

'I have called this castle your home. And for those of you who are returning, I hope that is how you feel - and, for those who join us today, I hope this is how you will come to see it. We are - each of us in this hall - blessed with a rare and special gift, and this is the place where we learn to use it. It does not matter how you came by this gift - if you are the latest scion of an ancient bloodline dating back to Merlin, or the very first person with magic in your family - all of us are equal, here at Hogwarts. All of us start at the very beginning. Some of you may be aware that, outside the safety of our walls, there are those who would disagree with me, who think that what you are born matters more than what you become. I wish to make it plain - you all have a right to be here, you are all welcome here and it is your achievements - and not those of your family - that will be how you are measured. I hope there is no one in this Hall who will ever forget that.'

There was a moment of tense silence, and then he smiled again. 'Still - you have had a long journey and your patience for an old man's waffling must be wearing thin, so - to all of you - I say a hearty "tuck in".'

And with that, the feast appeared on the tables: mountains of meat, piles of potatoes, heaps of vegetables and boats filled with gravy. And for all the tables groaned beneath the weight of so much food, it was all polished off in a surprisingly short time - and then the remains vanished and the puddings appeared. Trifles and tarts and cakes and pies were spread out before them; a delicious array of glistening, quivering cream and crumbling pastry - tempting, tantalising and mouthwatering, beneath the candlelight .

The puddings were finished off even quicker than the main course had been. And then it was time for notices (no magic in the corridors, no going in the Forbidden Forest and all the other rules that the boys paid absolutely no attention to) and then the benches were scraped back, the students all got to their feet and it was time for bed.

…

Up in their dorm, the boys got into their pajamas (their trunks had been delivered while they were at the feast). 'Dumbledore's got a bee in his bonnet, hasn't he?' James said. He peered into the mirror and tried to make his hair lie flat. It grew all over the place and always stuck up at the back. He pressed it down and counted to ten, but when he released his hand it just sprung up again - as wild as ever. He sighed. 'I've never heard him make a speech like that before.'

'He's laying it out there that he stands against Voldemort,' Sirius said.

'So he should. Voldemort eats people. Someone needs to stand against him.'

'Shouldn't have to be the headmaster of a school though,' Remus said gloomily. 'Should be the Minister for Magic - but she's useless.'

They all looked downcast for a moment. 'Anyway,' James shook his head, 'what are we gonna do tomorrow? It's Sunday. One day of freedom before lessons start. I want to go down to the Quidditch pitch and get in some practice.'

'I don't want to do that,' Sirius said.

'No - well - you're a nutter. Which reminds me.' He bent down and opened his trunk up. 'Here's your toaster.'

'Excellent!' Sirius reached out for it and - before anyone could stop him by pointing out how late it was - he had opened up the box and brought it out. 'I didn't realise it would be so .. shiny .'

'Mate, are you drooling?'

'Sod off - no - I'm just…' he stuck his tongue between his teeth and raised his wand, pointing it at one of the little screws near the bottom.

'Don't do that now,' Remus climbed onto Sirius's bed and took his wand off him. 'It's late - you don't want to lose any parts in the dark.'

'But - '

'You can play with it tomorrow - when James is practising Quidditch. It will give you something to look forward to.'

'He's right, save it for tomorrow … Though we should probably have our third year, inaugural, pissing competition as well,' James said. 'If we can find time.'

'Is there any point?' Peter asked. 'Remus will win - he always does.'

'Remus cheats,' Sirius said.

'I don't cheat! I just have the biggest todger.' He looked smug. 'It's why they call me "Remus the Penis"... Mmphhh.' (He had just been hit in the face with a pillow by Sirius).

'No one calls you that! And, if they do, they don't mean it is a compliment. And anyway - your todger is not bigger than mine. Mine's just - more slender… and streamlined … more aristocratic …Mmmphhh' (he had just been hit in the face with a pillow by Remus).

'Did you just call your knob "aristocratic"?'

'I can't help it if I'm noble from my toes to my todger… mmmphh'

'Mmphh'

'Mmphh' and with much giggling, the pair of them traded blows with their pillows - smacking each other in the face over and over, the toaster lying abandoned and forgotten on the bed spread.

'You two really do like to talk about your willies,' Peter said. 'You're both obsessed with penises.'

The pillows dropped from their hands, the fighting came to a dead stop. Remus felt himself flush - but Sirius had turned haughty, adopting an attitude of icy cool. 'And when yours gets bigger, you'll understand why,' he said witheringly.

It was Pete's turn to blush.

Remus looked down at his toes, his cheeks still burning - he thought he should tell Sirius off for being cruel but …wasn't quite sure what to say. James, however, did not seem to have any such trouble. 'There was no call for that,' he said primly. 'You should apologise to Pete.'

Sirius looked outraged for a moment, and opened his mouth to complain - but James glared at him so fiercely that, after a moment, he closed his mouth again, tutted and then mumbled: 'sorry, Pete.'

's'OK.'

'Good,' James was beaming around at them all again. 'Now - pack up your toaster, you absolute fruitcake, we need to get to bed. There's loads for us to do in the morning.'

…

They had a lazy start the next morning, followed by a leisurely breakfast and a walk around the lake. They held their competition behind the Astronomy Tower (Remus won - though no one mentioned whether or not size was a factor in his success) and in the afternoon James took his broomstick out to the Quidditch pitch to get some practice in before tryouts, and Sirius stayed in the common room, tinkering with his toaster.

As the day wore on, the girls - sitting in their own corner of the common room - seemed to grow more and more excited until finally, just as James arrived back through the portrait, his broom carried over his shoulder, Lily got up and switched on the wireless.

'It's Sunday, It's Half Past Four, it's time for the "Wiz Hits Top 40"!'

Joel Stedmonds' - the Wizarding DJ's - voice drifted through the room.

'And have we got a show for you - Celestina Warbeck, The Nifflers; Lethifold have a new song out and so does Roddy Hewitt - The Warbling Warlock … They'll both be wanting to make a big splash. But the real question is - can anyone beat the might… of The Kneazles?'

Lily and Mary clutched each other and screamed. Remus just caught sight of James' lip curling in disgust at the sight of them, before he vanished up the stairs to take off his Quidditch robes and take a shower. Remus smiled to himself …It would seem that James was still determined to hate The Kneazles, for daring to clash with the Quidditch.

'And, as a special treat for all you young witches and wizards out there - Bobby Darrow himself will be appearing on the show to introduce the song they just released today…'

'Oh my gosh!' Lily squealed.

'Can they go straight in at number one? Only time will tell - so, settle in for two and a half hours of the hottest tunes. And kicking things off tonight - their fifth week in the charts but down three places from last week, at number 40 is our very own Prog Rock Band extraordinaire: The Magic Unicorns - with "I Danced Before the Founders Four".'

The eldritch strains of The Magic Unicorns' latest song replaced Joel Stedmonds' voice - and chatter began to break out across the common room once again.

By teatime they were only halfway through the countdown - and Lily was noticeably reluctant to leave the wireless. Her and her friends bolted down their chicken pie and mashed potatoes and then raced back up to the common room - keeping everything crossed that they had not missed a Kneazles song - or Bobby himself - while they were down in the Hall.

The boys - not interested in The Wiz Hits Top 40 - ate at a far more leisurely pace, and it was dark, and the Hall mostly empty, before they finally made their way back to Gryffindor Tower.

When they arrived at the common room, The Kneazles summer hit "The Giant Squid" was playing (still at number 12 despite over two months in the charts), Lily was dancing and half of Gryffindor was gathered around the wireless. The evening Edition of The Prophet had also arrived - and Sirius picked it up to do the crossword.

But he had not had it long before he whistled and looked up. 'Something else in the paper,' he told his friends. 'Another one of those opinion pieces - and this one…' he looked mildly sick. 'This one has been written by Rodolphus Lestrange.'

'Who's that?' Peter asked him.

'Only my cousin Bella's husband. So I suppose he's my cousin in law - God my family are all such foul, evil gits.'

'What does he have to say?' Remus asked.

'Nothing good…' and, with a look of great disdain on his face, he proceeded to read to them the wisdom Lestrange had to offer the wizarding world.

…

Down in the Slytherin common room, Severus was reading the paper as well. It was making him every bit as angry as it was making Sirius - but for very different reasons:

My Bride, Bellatrix, and the Importance of Blood Lines

Read the header of Rodolphus Lestrange's opinion piece.

In the middle of the common room, lounging on a velvet green sofa, Rabastan Lestrange - Rodolphus' younger brother - was holding court. Severus's own friends, Mulciber and Avery, were sitting at his feet. They too had a copy of the paper and were discussing the piece earnestly with Rabastan … And Severus simmered with rage, as he did not dare go and join them. He was not sure he would be welcomed. His own bloodline saw to that - and this piece made it painfully clear.

It has been three years since I was fortunate enough to take Bellatrix Black as my lawfully wedded wife. The eldest daughter of a noble and ancient house, she was - I flatter myself - a fitting match for a wizard from such ancient stock as my own. And in our 36 months as man and wife, we have found ourselves working in rhythm, enjoying the sort of natural simpatico that can be expected from our shared upbringing, values and experiences.

After all, it hardly requires knowledge of the arts of divination to foresee that two people of a similar background will find much in common. To marry like with like is - in short - the simplest way to ensure a harmonious home. To have married outside of our own sphere would have caused ructions, our differing worldviews formed by our differing families would have caused us to butt heads and our marriage would be beset with the strife that only marrying outside your own sort can bring.

Severus bit the inside of his cheek, and a pulse twitched in his eyelid. He thought of his mother marrying that worthless, animal muggle and of how unhappy their marriage was. Tobias Snape was forever drunk - and when he wasn't hurling swear words at his wife and son, then he was hurling heavy objects at them. He felt cheated that his wife had not told him she was a witch (a "freak" he called it) before they were married, and that she had lumbered him with a "freak" son. He didn't like magic - and he wanted a muggle wife and muggle children … because people were happier when they married their own kind.

Severus knew his father would have been happier if he had stuck to his own, inferior, kind - but, more importantly, he knew his mother would be happier, and his own blood would be purer, if she had done the same. Like should marry like - and it was Severus paying the price for his parents being so foolish as to ignore that.

But an unhappy home was the least of it, as Lestrange was about to point out.

But more important, even, than marital bliss is the simple truth that we must never lose sight of:

People with magic are superior to those without.

And if we accept this simple truth as fact, then it only follows that those of us with the purest blood, the most ancient wizarding ancestry, are superior to those of newer or mixed blood. After all we are descended from a race of superior beings and have preserved their worth through the generations.

By contrast, those of newer blood - whether having a muggle parent or grandparent - are descended from inferior beings, and that inferiority lives on in their veins. Traces of muggle can be found in their blood and taints their very magic. If pure bloods are the elite - half bloods then are the rabble. Half wizard - but also half muggle. Half animal. Lesser.

He seethed to himself. Not at what Lestrange had said (for he could not disagree) but because he was, himself, one of these lesser types - a half animal. His animal father tainted Severus's blood and that was the fault of his unworthy mother for marrying him … and Severus was furious with both of them, and so deeply ashamed for himself. He glanced across at where Mulciber and Avery were talking with Rabastan Lestrange and he died a little inside. If he went over and spoke with them, talked to them about the article … they would be thinking "half animal" when they looked at him - and they would all know it.

Bottom of the pile, of course, is the mudblood. Born directly of primitive people and encroaching on our world by means of stolen power, they are savages who know nothing of our ways and - if given the chance - would seek to destroy our way of life and bring us all down to live among those of the dirtiest heritage - their muggle relations.

It was at least some comfort to Severus that he did not belong to the very bottom rung. Yes, he had a feckless, animal father - but on his mother's side he was descended from a name to be proud of. It was some comfort that, as much as Mulciber and Avery might look down on him, there were at least others that he, Severus, could look down on in turn. Mudbloods had no place at Hogwarts… but he was rather glad they were there, just so he had somebody to sneer at.

Which brings me neatly to my point: Bloodlines - and why they matter. To put it simply, if each classification of blood status bestows worth according to purity - then to mix blood status is to sire children who are, indeed, your own inferior.

Ten generations of the purest blood can be wiped out with a single ill conceived marriage to a half blood with a muggle parent. Centuries of power are muddied instantly by the joining of the pure and the half blooded. Worse still from the joining of the pureblood to the mudblood and - deepest of all sins - the marriage and mating between a wizard and muggle.

Unless you wish to debase your own bloodline and bring forth a child sullied, as you are not, and lesser than yourself - then you must seek to marry within your own blood status. For anything else is to risk destabilising the whole system on which our society is based.

Strength comes from continuity. Continuity of family and blood, and continuity of tradition, of power being held by those who know how to wield it - and of everybody else being kept in their rightful place.

When pure marries pure, our whole world is made more secure - and we build a future based on the strength of the past.

And it is this future promise of a better, stronger world, made so by the union of our blood, to which I raise a glass and salute my wife, Bella.

Severus was biting the inside of his cheek so hard by now he could taste blood. The paper shook in his hands, he was so angry at the world - and particularly his parents - for allowing him to be born so lowly. He had power, he was one of the most talented wizards in this room - despite being one of the youngest - and he knew more curses than most of the seventh years put together. And yet that would never really count for anything, because he did not have the right blood … and everyone in this common room (including him) knew it.

He could prove himself a thousand times over, come top of the year in every exam and - once he was old enough - serve the Dark Lord with unwavering loyalty and be his most useful ally …and it would still mean nothing compared to the blood of Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, or Gaius Avery or Julian Mulicber. Or even Sirius bloody Black and that loathsome Potter.

He would never be as good as them - not where it counted - and it stung.

He stewed for so long over the article that, in the end, his hands trembled with rage so badly he dropped the paper. His friends looked over at him (and he was sure he could detect just the merest hint of a supercilious smirk on their faces) and he flushed an ugly, blotchy red and got to his feet - stalking off to his dormitory and leaving the newspaper abandoned on the floor.

…

Once he was gone, Regulus Black picked the paper up from the floor and read the article, nodding along to all of Lestrange's words. Once he was done, he cut the piece out to add to his collection.

…

'And so this is it - witches and wizards, boys and girls, it's time to reveal this week's number one Wiz Hit… and it will come as no surprise that The Kneazles take the top slot! So - here to introduce his new song is the one, the only, Bobby Darrow!'

Lily squealed in excitement - and she was not the only one.

'Thanks for that intro, Joel,'

Bobby's soothing scouse voice trickled across the airwaves.

'Though I'm not sure I warrant such a description.'

'He's so humble,' Lily sighed dreamily.

'Yeah - the boys and I have a new song out today. We know the kids have all headed back to Hogwarts this weekend, and some of them are just starting out. For some of them it's not just their first day at school but their first day in the magic world … and this song was written for them…'

His voice faded to be replaced by the playing of a harpsichord and The Kneazles harmonising…

School school school

School school school

Lily and Mary were clutching each other again - and barely choking down their squeals of excitement. And they were not alone - most of the girls were just as excited and even most of the boys were listening intently.

Only the four third year boys, sitting by the fire, were entirely unaffected by the premiere of a new Kneazles song. Instead they sat with their heads close together, whispering intently about the awful things they had just read in the paper.

'This has to be the worst one yet,' Sirius said, almost choking on his outrage. 'That stuff about muggles being animals and wizards with one muggle parent being half animals…' he sneaked a glance at Remus, blushed furiously and then started tearing the paper up.

You're at the start of somethin' new, I know it

And that's a scary place to be - though you don't show it

So much to learn, so much to see to be the witch you wanna be

It's easy!

There's nothing you can charm that can't be charmed

And there's nothing that expelliarmus won't disarm

There's so much that you can do, so much magic sure and true

It's easy!

All you need's a wand

All you need's a wand

All you need's a wand

A wand

A wand is all you need.

'It's such a load of bollocks anyway,' James said, ignoring entirely both the song and the room full of people listening breathlessly. 'I don't care how pure someone says their bloodline is - there's muggle in there somewhere. There's not enough wizards for us to only marry other wizards.'

'My family have only ever married other wizards - for generations,' Sirius said gloomily.

'Yeah - and you have seven toes on each foot.'

'I have five and a half, same as everybody.'

There's so many paths for you to take, I know it's true

So many potions left to make for you to brew

And though nothin' comes for free, this is right where you're meant to be

It will be easy!

All you need's a wand …

'And it's total bollocks about all that stuff about like having to marry like,' Remus said. 'Or at least - it is when it comes to magic and blood. My mum and dad adored each other. My mum was a bit wary of the magic world after I was you know - bit .' He lowered his voice for the last word, but needn't have bothered - as everyone not in on his furry little problem was entranced by the wireless. 'But that didn't stop them being happy together.'

'Which is more than Bella and Lestrange are,' Sirius told them all. He lowered his voice as well. 'He can write what he likes in the paper - but I know that it wasn't a love match, and I don't think things have improved since… Three years and they've not had a baby, for all his talk on bloodlines.'

'What a hypocrite,' James said in disgust, and the other three nodded their agreement.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the room the song was starting to fade out…

All you need's a wand

A wand

A wand is all you need.

A wand is all you need.

A wand is all you need…

When it finally ended there was a loud round of applause from the surrounding Gryffindors - which included a fair bit of whooping and cheering and even a few wolf whistles …and then Bobby started to talk again.

'Thanks for playing that, Joel, it means a lot - I know there are wizards out there who would rather our music isn't heard. But that was for all the new muggleborns starting out today and I want to say to them that I was once where they are and know how scared they are - as well as excited, to be joining this new world. There's a lot of ugly things being said in the papers at the moment, about people like me - about people like them - and I just want to tell them that they have as much right to be here as anyone, that this is their world too and they are just as good as any other wizard.'

Remus looked over at the wireless, finally listening to what Bobby Darrow had to say. He listened to the lead singer of The Kneazles say much the same as Dumbledore had at the start of term feast, laying it out on the line that he stood against the mysterious Lord Voldemort - without actually saying it in as many words. He saw the way Lily's eyes shone, as she heard her idol tell her she was just as bit as good as everyone else and had just as much right to be at Hogwarts … and then he turned to look at the paper lying in tatters on the floor where Sirius had shredded the hateful and ugly words it contained.

He wondered what on earth was going on in their little world, how it could have come to this … and which side people would choose to listen to.