Severus sighed and looked over at Lucius and Narcissa. "You do realize there are now four known British Parsel speakers. Two of them half-bloods and the other two not even considered magical by the Ministry of Magic."
"How many are there in Britain?" Narcissa asked.
Petunia shrugged. "It's not like there's a central directory. And if one does exist, the Goblin Nation isn't going to share it."
Alluk smiled and nodded. "We know of the families of the Parsel speakers Gringotts has employed. We usually hire from outside of Britain. India, Africa, and the Americas have magical traditions that welcome Parsel speakers. But we do give preference to hiring from families we know."
"How many British families still remain on your list?" Severus asked. He suspected he knew the answer.
"One," Alluk answered.
"How many of the lost families from your list were killed by Riddle?" Minerva asked.
"Ten," Alluk admitted. "Our list isn't comprehensive. We only track employee families. The actual number of lost parseltongue families is quite a bit higher I'm sure, especially as our healers have noted that many of our parseltongue families died out due to infertility issues over the past fifty years or so."
"It looks like Riddle was murdering the families of any Parsel speakers he could find so no one would be able to counter spells he cast using parselmagic," Bill summarized. "Including the slave mark. But we're also looking at the possibility of wand using Parsel speakers having been cursed."
"Dumbledore again?" Narcissa asked.
"The timing would tend to point that way," Alluk agreed. "And others with unique family gifts were no doubt also targeted. Quite a number of minor ancient houses have been rendered functionally extinct."
"So we have Riddle rendering his own followers sterile and possibly Dumbledore doing the same to students with family gifts he disapproved of," Bill summarized. "And since the Ministry has never conducted an actual census of British magic users, we don't even know the actual population numbers or trends. But just looking around, if most current pure-blood magical families are only have a single child, the population cannot be growing and add in inbreeding, the magical population isn't all that healthy."
Alluk nodded. "The bank's observations confirm that if the current birth trends among magical humans are not reversed, in very few generations, the only British magical humans will be squibs, wand users born to squibs, and half-bloods."
"So, between Riddle and Dumbledore, in a few decades there won't be a British wizarding world," Meddows stated.
"And between the Ministry's desire to ignore the past and Dumbledore refusing to allow facts he has decided are too too dangerous for others to know or go against his notions of how the world should be, none of the British magicals will have any idea of their past or their magic." McGonagall looked to be close to tears.
"As an observation," Meddows began softly. "Those who want to deny the truth by rewriting history or censoring what is taught either don't want to believe atrocities can and did happen, or they don't want people to know about it so that when it does happen again, and it always does, no one will recognize it for what it is until it's too late to stop it and no one will know how to defend themselves when it all goes to shit."
"Riddle didn't care about our history except for propaganda and he didn't share spell knowledge unless it was to show off his own brilliance. I don't actually remember receiving the mark," Severus admitted after a time. "My memories of the casting were modified so we wouldn't remember the spells he was using or that he was using parselmagic." Severus looked over at Lucius. "How many Death Eaters would turn on him if they knew what he'd done to their families and they were free of the slave mark?"
"A quarter to a half of them," Lucius said after some thought. "Maybe closer to a quarter. Remember, Riddle drew the majority of his followers from people who were already sadists and bullies. Traits, I might add, that Dumbledore's Hogwarts did nothing to counter and deliberately exacerbated."
"We also don't know how many of them had compulsions laid on them to bring out their worst traits," Severus said. "I know my own mind has gotten clearer since undergoing a goblin cleansing. And since I was a master Occlumens, I know that not all the curses laid on me have been removed."
Lucius looked thoughtful. "I suggest that you be the next 'experimental subject' for the removal of the mark. You should be able to detect what other curses were laid into it. Also, with Dumbledore no longer a viable threat to Riddle, he no longer needs you and he will kill you if he comes back. If you're to help protect my son and heir, you need to be alive."
"What about you, Father?" Draco asked. He looked like he was ready to cry but was too proud to allow it.
"I have things Riddle needs," Lucius said. "A lot of money and a lot of influence. The dead have no influence." Lucius turned to McGonagall. "It has occurred to me we need another class at Hogwarts. The economics of the wizarding world. Riddle and Dumbledore and the Ministry all played into convincing the pure-blood of their superiority and wealthy pure-blood of their primacy. But if you look around Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, who are the people running the shops? Who are the people making the goods being sold? Who are the people inventing new things? Who are the people and companies Gringotts invests in? Not pure-blood supremacists who think they are entitled by birth to give orders without any consideration of the consequences, or if they even have the right to give orders."
"Very true," Griphook agreed. "I commend your rare insight."
"Thank you," Lucius said. "I was taught from childhood the superiority of the magic of the pure-blood and the supposed rights of the wealthy. But I was also taught to respect those doing the work our wealth allows us to profit from and the responsibilities that come from position and wealth.
"I have been working hard to recover those basic beliefs despite Dumbledore's efforts to undermine them and Riddle's remaining curses. Our society needs the muggleborns and half-bloods and, Merlin help me, even talented squibs. The finest potions master in generations is sitting in this room and is a half-blood. None of the known British Parsel speakers are pure-bloods and parselmagic is deeper and stronger magic than any of us comprehend. The best students at Hogwarts are muggleborn despite their lack of education coming in."
"Father?" Draco looked utterly horrified and confused. It was as if his world had just blown up and been reconfigured to something beyond his comprehension.
"Your father is correct," Severus said. "You have been surrounded by magic all your life. But you and your associates were average students at best. Muggleborns like Miss Granger come into Hogwarts with no knowledge of wizarding society and only a brief introduction to magic and despite those handicaps, she and others like her excel at school, when they are allowed to. They are deliberately handicapped by not being taught about wizarding society so they can assimilate. We think they are being rude when in fact, they've been kept ignorant."
Severus chuckled. "Miss Granger was top of her year despite being cursed. Can you imagine how far she'll be able to go without impediments?"
"She'll be impossible," Draco complained.
"She'll be awesome," Harry said with a grin.
"Dumbledore has a lot to answer for," Petunia commented. "And do any of you really think Dumbledore was not aware of Riddle's recruitment within the school?"
Severus agreed. He looked to Alluk. "When would it be convenient for your healers to attempt to remove the mark?"
"Arrangements need to be made, but I expect we can be ready in no more than an hour."
"I will be there," Severus promised.
"And I will cover any costs for the procedure," Lucius offered. "He is family."
On arriving in the entrance hall of Malfoy Manor, Narcissa arched one elegant eyebrow at her husband then sent Draco off to the library. She led the way to one of the sitting rooms and called for tea.
"You're planning something," Severus observed, watching Lucius fiddle with this tea spoon.
"Contemplating the removal of impediments," Lucius corrected. "Riddle is a clear danger because he recruited to his ranks dangerous conscienceless boys who believed they had the Merlin given right to do whatever they wanted to whomever they wanted, without consequences. Dumbledore made sure none of those boys would be able to resist Riddle's allure.
"Dumbledore is, hopefully, neutralized and it's only a matter of time until the ICW locates him. I gather the goblins are reasonably certain that all Dumbledore's off shore caches have been located so he's going to be desperate for cash. He's going to trip up. Luckily the ICW isn't as incompetent as the Ministry."
"And Riddle?" Severus asked.
"We need to be clear of the slave mark before we move on him."
"Husband, you keep talking about 'boys' under his spell," Narcissa pointed out. "What about Bella? What about my sister?"
"Riddle knew she was pregnant when he offered her the slave mark. Rodolphus had announced it to all of us. He was so proud. And then she took the mark, and lost the baby. Both she and Rodolphus went mad while Riddle laughed at them. Rodolphus partially recovered. Bellatrix didn't."
"That's why you sent me away when I got pregnant with Draco," Narcissa realized.
Lucius nodded. "Father gave that order, actually. I'm sure he suspected the Dark Lord had something to do with Bellatrix's miscarriage and madness even if I didn't at the time. We argued about it. He won."
"He told me, not long before he died, that he would not be averse to us blood adopting a sibling for Draco," Narcissa said. "I think I had mentioned that we wanted another child but weren't having any luck."
"Father has a blood purist, but he was also a realist," Lucius said. "He recognized the threat Riddle posed to our society. He also recognized talent when he saw it, nurtured it when and where he could, and recognized that the goblins were and are a force to be respected. The wizards thought they were punishing the goblins by turning them into bankers. But nothing could be further from the truth."
"I need to get going," Severus told them. He pulled out the portkey Bill Weasley had given him as they left the Dursley house.
"While you're there, ask them to do an inheritance test," Lucius advised.
"My mother was disowned by the Prince family before I was born, as you well know," Severus reminded him.
"Check anyway."
"I'll contact you when I'm finished," Severus told the Malfoys just before he activated the portkey.
The portkey deposited him in a windowless stone room with a single door. The door had no inner latch.
The door opened and an elderly female goblin wearing healers robes looked in. "Mister Snape?"
"Yes."
"Follow me."
She led him to an anteroom that opened onto a large ritual room. A white silk robe was folded on the bench.
"You may cover yourself with the robe. You may take nothing else with you into the ritual chamber, no clothing, no jewelry, no wand."
Severus suppressed a shudder. He had known in an intellectual basis that a cleaning by ritual meant a full lowering of his defenses, something he was by nature loathe to do, but the visceral realization of his helplessness made him want to run and hide.
"The cleansing will be extremely painful and we cannot use the dreamless sleep potion on you. No matter what, once the cleansing has begun it must continue to its completion."
"And if the cleansing is interrupted?"
"You will die and the aftershock will likely kill anyone in the chamber with you. Slaves are intended to be sold or worked, not freed."
Severus didn't bother to hide his fear this time.
The chamber was spherical with a circular platform suspended in the center. Four bridges connected the platform to the chamber itself. Silver runes glowed against the black stone of the chamber. The healer guided him to the platform, instructing him to lie down. She crouched beside him, a goblin silver knife in her hand.
A dark skinned witch joined the healer on the platform. She marked his forehead with a painted rune, speaking in Parsel."Uruz," she repeated in heavily accented English. "Freedom and strength." Then his chest, first in Parsel then: "Dagaz, awakening and clarity."
Two more goblin healers and a dark skinned wizard joined them. The four took their places at the four quarters. The two humans called out their quarters in Parsel while the two goblins called them in their own language.
Then the pain started. The crucio curse was bad. But that just tortured the body and mind. This tortured the soul as well. There was no safe place to hide, no using occlumancy to mitigate the horror. He had to face what he had allowed to be placed in his mind, his soul, and his body. In anger at his family's rejection of him and Lily's rejection and the loneliness at the loss of her friendship, he had believed the lies and had allowed his very soul to become corrupted by them.
Then, unbelievably, even more pain as a goblin knife cut across the slave mark on his left arm. He felt the foulness of the mark writhe against his skin. He was screaming in his mind. He had no idea if he was screaming with his mouth.
Then the physical pain was gone. The mental pain lingered and all he wanted to do was curl up and cry for all the pain he now recognized he had caused. All the people he had ignored and walked away from, who might have been friends if he had only allowed it. All the hopeful children he had abused without ever raising his hand to them. He was weeping and he hadn't shed tears since he was a small boy.
Severus woke up in a comfortable bed with a warm blanket thrown over him. He felt as if he'd run a marathon, every muscle and joint had a dull ache. But there was no sharp physical pain as though he'd been injured, not even in his left arm. He was just sore all over. He flexed his fingers and determined his left hand was there, despite how it felt in the chamber but he also felt a bandage on his arm covering the area the mark was, or had been.
His throat felt raw. He assumed it was from screaming. He opened his eyes to discover he was in a recovery area somewhere. A goblin healer he hadn't met sat at a desk by the door.
The goblin came over to him and checked the bandage. "You will have a scar. Parselmagic curse marks dig their roots deep into the flesh. But the curses test as broken."
"How long…?" he asked, testing his voice.
"The ritual took an hour," the goblin told him. "You've been unconscious four hours. The healers would like you to stay overnight for observation." The goblin handed him a glass of water and a piece of Honeydukes chocolate. "No potions or spell casting for twenty-four hours. Your core needs to stabilize. Only easily digested food for the next few days and good chocolate."
"Could someone inform Lucius Malfoy that I survived and I should be able to see him tomorrow? And I would very much appreciate it if I could have an inheritance test."
If the goblin was surprised at the request he didn't show it. Severus closed his eyes and when he opened them again another goblin, this one in a suit and tie, was standing at his bedside.
The goblin handed him a silver knife and a vial. "Three drops of blood into the vial to confirm your identity for retrieving the inheritance record. This should not tax your core."
Severus slit his thumb and dripped three drops into the vial. The goblin capped the vial and placed it into a silver holder, touching one of the runes engraved on the holder. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Another goblin entered, this one in a black suit. They were holding a parchment scroll with a red cord and silver seal which they handed to Severus.
Severus broke the seal and read the document. To his astonishment, he was listed as the Prince heir.
"My mother was disowned by the family…"
"Your mother's younger brother, Harold Leon, was the heir until he died under suspicious circumstances," the black suited goblin said. "That left you as the sole male offspring of the Prince line. Your grandparents claimed you as their heir. You became the presumptive Head of House when your grandfather died."
"Why was I never told?"
"On that I have no information," the goblin said with a sneer. "However, if I may hazard a guess based on recent revelations concerning other heir accounts, someone intercepted your messages from Gringotts and placed a redirect on them, possibly with the intention of gaining the Prince vault keys and emptying the Prince vaults."
"So I need to see an account manager and have them audit the Prince vaults."
Within half an hour another black suited goblin came in. He introduced himself as Nagkrus, the Prince account manager. He carried an account ledger and an ornate wooden ring box. Nagkrus set the ledger down and opened the ring box. Inside was a silver signet ring with a simple crown embossed on it.
"Prince is an ancient house, although not one of the houses claimed by wizards to be 'sacred'," Nagkrus stated. "Most heirs assume that having been declared the primary heir automatically allows them to claim the Head of House ring once the Head of House is gone."
"I am aware that Magic is the final judge," Severus said. In his years at Hogwarts both as a student and as an instructor he'd seen more than one shocked student who had not been accepted as the head of their ancient house when it was assumed they would when they reached their majority.
He slipped the ring on his finger and felt a gentle wave of magic as the ring glowed gold. Even with a partially exhausted core, the ring's magic accepted him.
Nagkrus smiled. "Now we can review your accounts, Head of House Prince."
To Severus' surprise, the Prince accounts were in good shape. The House of Prince was, by no means, a wealthy one. They had no great inventions to their name but they'd been merchants, farmers, the occasional politician. But the Princes were old and smart and did not waste their money. The accounts had more than enough income to allow Severus a very comfortable lifestyle. He was surprised to find the Prince estate included a cottage near Hogsmeade that was currently being rented out and a manor house in Wales. There, the land was being leased out for farming and grazing.
Apparently his grandparents had let the goblins handle the investments and properties and had given instructions that under no circumstances was the Prince estate to be given over to the government. If their heir died before coming forward, the real estate was to be sold and all the profits and investments were to be split between potions scholarships and St. Mungos.
"We knew there was an heir," Nagkrus explained. "We did not know why the heir hadn't come forward although we had suspicions. And now you have come forward and claimed your birthright."
"Thank you, Nagkrus. I see no reason for me to suggest any changes to the investment portfolio or the real estate management. I would like to take some funds for living expenses and to do some remodeling on my current home. I may hire one or two house elves, if that can be arranged through Gringotts."
"It can, but not until the healers allow it." Nagkrus handed Severus a vault key.
The next morning was another bright and sunny day. Petunia set Dudley and Harry out to the back yard to weed the herb garden. With Harry and Dudley at school, it had gotten neglected. She couldn't quite remember why except that other things kept coming up.
She idly considered getting a greenhouse for the more delicate plants she wanted for potions. Vernon had torn down her old greenhouse not long after Dudley was born, claiming all her attention should be on his son, not stupid plants.
Of course the more dangerous magical plants weren't allowed in muggle areas, but that still left a lot of plants available for a potioneer to grow.
She went down to her potions room, into the locked storage room. She dusted off her books on Parsel and made a mental note to check the Evans vault for more books on the Parsel language and Parsel runes. Parsel was one of the family gifts that Dumbledore had tried to eradicate. Luckily, those with private libraries tended to ignore banned book edicts. She hoped Harry knew the gemino spell so the books could be duplicated. Both boys needed to learn to read and write in Parsel, not just speak it.
Maybe Gringotts could locate a tutor for the boys.
She heard the tromp of elephant feet up in the kitchen and went upstairs to join the boys.
Harry was pouring lemonade for Dudley and himself. Weeding was sweaty work.
"Aunt Petunia, there was a kid in my herbology class who's really good with herbs and growing stuff. I was thinking if you want to expand the herb garden, you know, for potions or whatever, we could ask him over to help," Harry said, all in a rush like he was afraid if he didn't get his words out he'd be shut down.
"And his name?" Petunia asked.
"Neville Longbottom."
"The Longbottom's used to have some of the finest herb farms in Britain," Petunia mused. "Is Augusta Longbottom still alive?"
"Neville's grandmother," Harry told her. "His parents are in St. Mungo's. They were attacked… that night… and they never recovered."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Petunia said. "I remember meeting Frank Longbottom a few times when picking up Mother's herb order. He was charming and he had a way of making even the smallest order seem like the most important sale of the day. I heard he became an auror. Complete waste of talent. He had the makings of a brilliant magical horticulturalist. But I guess the war made a lot of magicals put their plans on hold to fight a war."
Petunia lost herself in her thoughts for a moment, then smiled at Harry. "I guess I'll have to pull out my etiquette books and send Madame Longbottom a note asking if her grandson would like to visit Heir Potter."
It didn't take long for her to write the note. She actually remembered the lessons her mother had drummed into her way back when. Lessons that Harry and Dudley were going to have to learn. Much of muggle British society tolerated ignoring old-fashioned niceties like proper rank courtesies. Magical Britain didn't. In fact, Petunia suspected that if enough members of the pre-Statute noble houses demanded to be addressed as though they still had their peerages, the Ministry would try its best to make it happen.
Hedwig seemed elated to have another letter to deliver. Apparently the bird was bored with just delivering to Hermione and Ron. Harry corresponded with them almost daily.
Hedwig returned with a response while the boys were getting cleaned up for lunch.
Petunia sighed on reading it. Augusta Longbottom had extended an invitation to Longbottom Manor for tea the next day. Neither of the boys had suitable clothes for such an invitation and neither had any clue regarding proper protocols. And she was out of practice.
She sent Hedwig back with an acceptance and steeled herself for another foray into Diagon Alley with two preteen boys. She hated using portkeys even though goblin made ones were far better than wizard made ones. It was Bill Weasley who had recommended that Petunia buy a goblin made portkey to Diagon Alley. She had paid extra to have it keyed to her. She hadn't wanted Harry or Dudley deciding to go shopping without adult supervision.
After a quick lunch she had Dudley put on his best clothes and Harry put on his Hogwarts robes and they portkeyed to a secluded gated spot near Gringotts.
"First, Madame Malkin's for proper clothes," Petunia announced as they opened the gate to access Diagon Alley's main street. "Then Gringotts to check my vault for books, then bookstores. My etiquette books are old and we need to be on our best behavior tomorrow."
"Petunia?" A familiar man's voice called.
She looked for the voice and saw a tall man with black hair and black robes. He looked familiar yet not. Then it clicked.
"Severus," she responded. "I gather your appointment yesterday had an acceptable outcome?" she asked carefully. He looked different. Healthier than she remembered from just yesterday, skin still pale but no longer sallow. His hair looked clean and his expression far less pained.
"Surprisingly so," he said, stepping closer and showing her the signet ring he now wore. "I was informed that my grandfather, who I never met, made me his heir after my uncle, who I knew nothing about, died while I was still in school. The question then becomes why did someone illegally keep me from finding out?"
"Perhaps a certain embezzler we are both familiar with?" Petunia suggested.
"Perhaps," Severus agreed. "And what brings you to Diagon Alley?"
"Shopping," she stated. "Madame Longbottom has invited us to tea tomorrow and none of us have anything appropriate to wear. And that school taught Harry absolutely nothing about magical social classes and highborn etiquette."
Severus chuckled. "How better to show the inferiority of the muggleborn and the muggle raised than by loudly proclaiming their equality while ensuring their failure." He looked over at Harry. "As I have nothing to do for the next several hours until the healers clear me to go home, would it be too much of an imposition for me to accompany you? With your permission, Mister Potter, Mister Dursley."
Dudley shrugged. Harry on the other hand gave Severus a speculative look. "You look nicer somehow," he said.
"I feel nicer," Severus stated solemnly. "Having curses removed does that to people."
"Sorry you lost your job, sir," Harry offered.
"I'm not," Severus stated as he led the way towards Madame Malkins."I have never had the patience or the temperament to teach children. Dumbledore knew that and didn't care. Frankly, I'm not sure he wanted anyone to learn anything in my classes. Those that succeeded did so by natural talent and perseverance. It is my sincere hope that you, along with Miss Granger and Mister Weasley, will have far greater success in your education under Headmistress McGonagall's tutelage than you had under the former headmaster's. In fact, I am quite certain all the students will have greater success now that the problems the former headmaster created are being addressed."
"Hear, hear," someone said. Petunia looked over to see a heavy set gray haired man in a pinstripe suit and matching robe. He was wearing a bowler hat on his round head. Petunia considered he looked too much like a politician not to be one.
Severus snorted. "Eavesdropping ill becomes you, Minister Fudge. Madame Evans, meet Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge. Minster Fudge, Madame Petunia Evans, her son and nephew," Severus said, making the introductions.
Fudge frowned. "I'm afraid I don't know a wizarding family named Evans. Unless you're related to Lily Evans but she was muggleborn…"
Petunia gave him one of her gobin-like grins. "Another one of Dumbledore's lies. Will we never see the end of that man's fabrications? The Evans family has been potioneers and rune masters for generations."
She turned to Severus, wanting to be quit of Fudge. "We'd best hurry if we're to finish our errands before your appointment with your account manager."
"A moment, Professor Snape," Fudge said. He seemed nervous and worried. "Last night I received a disturbing message from Malfoy and today I'm unable to contact him by floo. You're one of his close associates, perhaps…?"
"Assuming I knew anything about a communication between Mister Malfoy and yourself, what makes you think I would betray his trust by talking about it?" Severus asked, obviously annoyed. He waved the boys to continue towards Madame Malkins. Fudge grabbed his sleeve.
"Because his message was a recommendation to clean the blood purists out of the ministry before the public discovers exactly how deeply the Dark Lord and his allies have infiltrated the government," Fudge whispered.
"Then I suggest you take his advice," Severus said in a low voice. He cast a muffliato charm around the group."It is a fact that those bearing the Dark Mark are connected magically to the Dark Lord. If any of them are alive, then he is alive and working to return to power. That is a fact whether you believe it or not!"
"Harry Potter killed the Dark Lord that night. Everybody knows that," Fudge hissed.
"Then please explain how a babe in diapers managed that?" Severus hissed back. "And then explain why a child who managed such an extraordinary feat was not awarded the Order of Merlin? And then explain why Albus Dumbledore cursed that extraordinary child's caretakers and robbed them of what was rightfully theirs so they would be unable to properly care for that child?"
"What are you saying?" Fudge demanded.
"I'm saying that a baby survived that night because his loving mother was a formidable witch more powerful than either Tom Riddle or Albus Dumbledore imagined and she saved her child at the sacrifice of her own life. She might have been able to actually kill the bastard once and for all had Dumbledore not kept from his minions the fact that he suspected the Dark Lord had made soul anchors to keep himself from dying. I'm also saying Dumbledore knew Lily's son survived because of her abilities and sacrifice." As he spoke, Severus was poking Fudge in the chest with one bony finger, forcing the older man to back away.
"And if Lucius Malfoy says there are pure blood supremacists in your government with plans to overthrow the government and enslave every magical and non-magical in Britain, I believe him. And so should you.
"Now, I have better things to do than standing in the middle of the street lecturing you on things anyone with half a brain would have realized ten years ago!" With that Severus canceled the muffliato and stalked way, ignoring the crowd that had gathered to watch the former Hogwarts potions master giving Minister Fudge a tongue lashing. None of them knew what was said but everyone saw Severus Snape poking Fudge in fury.
Petunia grabbed the boys and hurried after him.
The visit to Madame Malkins was almost anticlimactic. Harry had his measuring done first, so when it was Dudley's turn he took the strangeness of magical measuring in stride. Petunia chose a light wool for both the boys, charmed for comfort, self cleaning, and lengthening. Harry chose a burgundy red for his robe while Dudley chose a deep forest green. For herself, a robe in the same material in black with a more feminine cut, no lace or other embellishments. A mourning robe.
"Mister Potter could wear the Heir to Black crest," Severus murmured.
"The people who need to know already know," Petunia murmured back. "And to everyone else it would be construed as boasting. He doesn't need that. He's already wearing the Black heir ring. It has protections."
Severus chuckled. "The ring must have a notice-me-not charm on it. I normally notice things like a student wearing an heir ring. Dumbledore disapproved of students wearing their heir rings. Claimed it was a sign of hubris."
"Of course he'd say that. Some of the rings offer protections against things he wanted to do to said heirs. Can't have them knowing they're being potioned or poisoned at school."
"Slytherin colors would have suited you."
"Any colors but Gryffindor," Petunia said lightly. "Full steam ahead and don't bother with checking the chart for shoals. You know, Lily was quite disappointed the two of you didn't get sorted into the same house."
"Slytherin would have hated her for being what she was and Gryffindor would have hated me on general principles. I'm not bold and I know the nail that stands out is the one that gets hammered down. Besides, my mother was Slytherin and children are generally sorted into the houses their parents were. But looking back I think Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff would have suited us both."
Petunia glanced out the front window of the shop and noticed a woman with unnaturally white blonde hair done in old fashioned curls, red framed glasses, and wearing a green leather skirt suit looking into the store.
"Rita Skeeter," Severus murmured. "Gossip writer for the Prophet. If the truth isn't salacious enough, she creatively invents things that are."
"Ah, so alleged Death Eater Severus Snape being seen berating the Minister of Magic and accompanying a poor bereaved widow with two orphaned children has her curiosity up?"
Severus chuckled. "Without the curse scar, Potter is just another school-age boy so I doubt she cares about two orphaned waifs."
"Tell her about the Dark Mark being proof that Riddle is still alive," Petunia suggested. "And dunderhead Fudge still believes Dumbledore's contention that Riddle's minions were reformed when all they're really doing is waiting for their master to return. Remind her of the all the pure-blood families he ordered murdered when he was giving orders the last time."
"You really are Slytherin." There was surprised approval in his voice.
Madame Malkin finished with the new robes and the boys put them on over their regular clothes. Petunia paid for the new robes and put Harry's Hogwarts robe into her old leather carry bag which had a runic undetectable expansion charm woven into it.
On a hunch she grabbed her ring box, pulled out two of the silver rings and put one on each index finger. Vernon had objected to her wearing any rings besides the one he'd given her on her wedding day so she'd kept the box in her potions room where he would never find it. In a muggle neighborhood she'd had little need for magic rings.
But this wasn't a peaceful muggle neighborhood. The wizarding world was a war zone with the battles concealed by arcane rules and etiquette and every adult was a potential combatant. And sometimes the war wasn't concealed at all.
"Shall we go talk to Miss Skeeter?" Petunia asked.
Severus gave a long suffering sigh and headed for the shop door.
"Miss Skeeter," Severus began. "I would be lying if I said I was surprised to see you. After all, your spy network is at least as competent as Minister Fudge's and, I admit, that must have been quite a show we put on."
"It was. So what foolishness was the minister spouting that you were objecting to? My readers would like to know."
"Minister Fudge seemed to be under the impression that I am Lucius Malfoy's personal secretary and I should be willing to share inside knowledge of Mister Malfoy's plans and thoughts, assuming I had such knowledge, which I don't and wouldn't admit to if I did. I did share with the minister some recently uncovered information on the Death Eaters' Dark Mark. I'm afraid he didn't seem to understand the implications."
"And what information is that?"
"The Dark Mark is ancient sidhe magic. It is one of the blackest soul magics, banned from the time the sidhe turned sideways from this world. It marks the wearer as a slave. It binds the wearer's soul to the caster and when the caster truly dies, so do the slaves, their souls destroyed by the evil of the mark."
"So you're saying that the Dark Lord wasn't killed the night the Boy Who Lived vanquished him?"
"Aside from the fact that everyone assumes a baby killed a powerful dark wizard while ignoring the fact that his mother was one of the most powerful witches Hogwarts had seen in generations?" Severus glared at her before continuing. "He can't have been killed that night. His slaves still live."
"And when you say 'slave' you mean...?"
"Exactly that. They volunteered their bodies and minds to his cause of ridding the world of those he deemed 'unworthy'. But he took their souls and magic to feed on. They think they have power, they think they will rule over all the world to do as they will without conscience or mercy, but they are less than house elves. A house elf can, if the need is great enough, voluntarily break their bonds with their master and find a new one. Death Eaters cannot. The Dark Lord can kill them all with a thought and the Dark Mark renders them virtually sterile. The Dark Lord doesn't tolerate split loyalties."
Skeeter seemed to realize what Severus was saying and it was making her nervous. "You're making dangerous claims."
"The truth is always dangerous to those who would rather believe in lies and fairy tales. But the truth always comes out."
Skeeter took a moment then smiled brightly. "This will make a fine article. Thank you."
"Miss Skeeter," Petunia interjected as Skeeter started to turn away. "Does the Ministry know you're an animagus?"
"Me? An animagus? What nonsense."
"So, no," Petunia responded. "Since you couldn't be bothered to ask Mister Snape about me and my boys and our relationship to him, if you print anything about me or my boys in your rag, I will notify the Ministry of your animagus status and I will cheerfully delivery you to them in a jar. I will also do it if you skew the information Mister Snape has graciously given you in an effort to inform the public concerning the terrorist group known as Death Eaters. Am I understood?"
Skeeter stared at her a moment, then ran.
Petunia turned to Severus. "Do you think I scared her too badly?"
Severus gaped at her. "She's an animagus?"
"A small one, easily ignored. Not a mouse. An insect maybe. An innocuous one."
"And how do you know that?"
She held out her hands, showing him the rings. "Magic rings aren't that hard to make if you know how. And most squibs can use them. But as far as I know, Hogwarts hasn't taught ring making since even before Dumbledore. So, a ring of true seeing and a ring of detect lies. I made these the year Lily left for Hogwarts. They were going to be her Yule gift but she wouldn't accept them. A wand is so much more versatile." The last she spat out. The memory was still hurtful. She'd worked hard to craft the rings and Lily had laughed at them. Only squibs needed to use rings, she'd said.
"Does Hogwarts even have a class on making magic items?" Petunia asked as they started walking towards Fortescue's Ice Cream Shop.
"Charms, but most charmed items have limited spell life," Severus said.
"Snitches and bludgers don't," Harry stated.
"Properly constructed wards don't," Petunia added. She watched as the light came on in Severus' mind.
"Hogwarts teaches how to read runes, and even then it's an elective," he said. "They don't teach how to creatively use runes except for warding. I do remember a few seventh year runes classes covering making permanent charms using runes when I was in school."
They arrived at the ice cream shop. Severus found a table while Petunia gave Harry and Dudley coins to get ice cream for themselves. "Only one scoop, Dudley. Okay?" she said as the boys ran off to the counter.
She reached into her bag and pulled out a thumb-sized crystal set surrounded by copper filigree. She set it on the table and tapped the top.
"Privacy," she explained. "I would have given the rings to you instead," she went on. "But you both came back from school that year changed. Closed off from the rest of us. A traditional Yule at home wasn't as good as Hogwarts. Nothing was as good as Hogwarts."
"She said you were jealous," Severus said.
"No," Petunia told him. "Or at least not much. I was angry because they didn't recognize my magic. My family's magic. And when you and Lily came home that Yuletide, you'd both stopped recognizing any magic that didn't use a wand. Lily actually told our mother that she couldn't possibly teach her anything about potions because a real potioneer used a wand."
"Oh dear Merlin," Severus murmured. He sat back in his chair with a sigh. "You know that Lily was terrified when her magic broke out. I told her it meant she was a witch. I told her it made her special. I told my mother who told her to keep it a secret, that the proper people would come and tell her parents when the time was right."
"Why would Eileen say that when she knew Martin worked for Gringotts and Rose made and sold potions? Mother may not have loudly acknowledged Lily's magic, but I know she knew Lily had bouts of accidental magic. I knew about Lily's accidental magic and Mother told me not to worry about it. You and Lily had loud magic and I had quiet magic."
"We all see the world through the lens of our experience," Severus said. "And then at Hogwarts, only wand users are considered to have any magic at all. They ignore the magic of the goblins and the house elves. It's not even discussed. Mister Filch is no doubt a case in point. The castle responds to him even though he cannot use a wand. No one thinks about Mister Filch being able to cross anti-muggle wards."
"You mean Mister Filch has magic even though nobody thinks he does?" Harry asked. He was standing touching the table and had two dishes of ice cream in his hands, as did Dudley. "Mister Fortescue said anybody having as serious discussion as you are needs chocolate." Harry set a dish of dark chocolate ice cream with fudge topping and whipped cream in front of Severus. "It should be safe. I didn't have anything to do with making it."
Dudley set a similar dish of chocolate ice cream in front of Petunia before sitting down to eat his own scoop. It was blue with multicolored sprinkles.
"Mister Filch may have magic even he doesn't know he has," Severus said. "The castle changes and adapts but I've never known Filch to have any problems navigating the castle and he always seems to know what the troublemakers are up to. He's a cantankerous old coot but the elves seem to like him. They don't do well around non-magicals. And if Filch weren't a squib, then Mrs. Norris the cat would no doubt be his familiar. In fact, thinking about it now, she probably is." His expression became thoughtful.
"Why is Mister Filch even at Hogwarts? He couldn't have been a student there," Harry asked. "The students look down on him for not having magic. He hates the students…"
"Probably for good reason…" Dudley added. "I know the caretaker at Smeltings isn't too fond of students."
"Filch comes from a pure-blood family," Severus said. "I expect that rather than hiding him away forever, or sending him into the muggle world where he'd be a risk to the Statute, his family arranged for him to be taken in at Hogwarts. I know he thinks the world of Dumbledore..."
Petunia found herself frowning.
"What is it?" Severus asked.
"Dumbledore." She took a deep breath before going on. It was going to be painful for both of them. "Before Lily died she wrote me a letter and left it in the Potter vault. It would have been found ten years ago had her will been executed as it should have been. In it she apologized for all the hurt she'd caused. She also said she believed she'd been potioned and that once James had his heir, he stopped… well, all he wanted from her was a nanny and a wet nurse for his son. She also said she knew that James had hexed Vernon and me. She didn't know the spell but she was certain Dumbledore knew what it was."
Petunia had thought Severus' face couldn't get any paler. She was wrong.
"I knew he and Black were bullies and Dumbledore encouraged it," Severus said. "I was their favorite target. But I never imagined Lily's sudden change of opinion about James was due to potions. Professor Slughorn had been absolutely adamant in his warnings against brewing amortensia. I thought… we all thought… he and Sirius had grown up a little. That Lupin had managed to moderate their behavior somewhat since they'd pretty much stopped bullying the other houses. I though maybe Lily had actually fallen in love with the man James had become in seventh year. The man she'd thought he could be."
"Lily's letters home changed near the end of sixth year. Before then she abhorred him and he scared her. He was the devilishly handsome star player who had a different girl on his arm every weekend at Hogsmeade. And apparently he set his sights on the one girl who wasn't going to fall for him. I gather McGonagall wasn't exactly helpful when Lily complained to her about his unwanted attentions.
"When she came home that summer, she spent most of her time with the Potters. I'd already moved out but mother told me it was not a fun summer."
Harry's expression was solemn. "Aunt Petunia, Professor, what if they'd all been spelled like we were? I mean, what if Fred and George were spelled to really hate Slytherins? Wouldn't they go from being almost harmless pranksters to seriously dangerous bullies?"
"From the mouths of babes," Severus intoned.
"It does make sense if we assume Dumbledore was doing everything he could get away with to keep Slytherin students isolated and demonized," Petunia said.
"And it makes sense that James and Sirius would target Lily since she was a Gryffindor who was best friends with a Slytherin and was quite vocally opposed to bullying," Severus added. "Add in teenage angst and lack of self control, overwhelming teenage pride, and possibly the influence of amortensia… I wouldn't go so far as to say anyone of those involved can be absolved from any responsibility but it may help explain some of the things that happened back then."
"There's something else," Harry said quietly. "At Christmas, I was given an invisibility cloak. The note said it belonged to my father and it said it had been in the Potter family for generations. But if somebody had it and knew it was my father's why didn't they give it to him when Riddle was targeting us?"
"I can't answer that," Severus stated. "Such a cloak might have allowed them to escape the attack with you. But invisibility cloaks don't normally last for even a few years, much less generations. There is one fabled ancient artifact… the Peverell cloak. One of the reputed Deathly Hallows. Legend has it if someone collects all three artifacts, they become the 'Master of Death'."
"What does that mean?" Dudley asked.
"No one really knows," Severus admitted. "People assume it means they can order Death around, or maybe they just know some of Death's secrets. Or maybe it's all a lie, a trap for those who think they can escape Death."
Petunia realized all their dishes were empty, the shop was filling up, and Mister Fortesque was watching them a trifle disapprovingly. "I think Mister Fortesque wants this table." She tapped the crystal and put it back in her bag.
She stood and turned to the boys. "More shopping?"
"Hedwig needs more owl treats," Harry reminded her.
As Severus made his way back to Gringotts, he reviewed Petunia's revelations about Lily's experiences at Hogwarts. He could accept that Dumbledore may have pushed the 'marauders' mostly innocent general pranking into outright bullying Slytherin students. But there was more to what happened to Lily than just Gryffindor/Slytherin animosity or James Potter seducing an innocent Gryffindor girl who had a Slytherin friend. Amortensia was far more likely than he cared to admit. Slughorn would have refused anyone any help on brewing amortensia. But there were ways of acquiring it.
A seduction didn't necessarily mean marrying the girl. In fact, since Lily was believed to be muggleborn, had James actually gotten her into bed with him, he might have been forgiven had he walked away from her – a girl so easily seduced wasn't good material for a loyal and chaste wife of the scion of a wealthy family.
But James Potter married Lily Evans. And long term seduction simply hadn't been James Potter's style. He was the charming bee that went from flower to flower. But to Severus's knowledge, James had never gone beyond flirting or fondling until Lily. Sirius Black, on the other hand, knew every secluded corner in the castle and was reputed to have used all of them.
The Potters were ancient and wealthy. They had a lot of money, more than most of the more pretentious families. But they didn't flaunt it. They did not waste their money on ostentation. The Potters were basically merchant princes who preferred to live comfortably rather than lavishly. Muggle suits and ties were their preferred uniform. It was also well known that Fleamont Potter had vastly increased the family's wealth through his invention and marketing of popular grooming potions that were still popular. But before there had been Potter charms masters inventing useful items still being made and potions masters with an eye for what the public wanted and needed.
James Potter would have inherited quite a bit of land, a number of houses, and a lot of money. If amortensia was used, the tongue waggers would have assumed that Lily used it on James. But what if they'd both been potioned by a third party? That would explain the observed facts: James chasing Lily and Lily's sudden change of heart.
But that then begged the question of who would want them together so badly they'd use potions?
The Evanses were an old family as well. Lily had been proud of her family tree and Severus actually recognized some of the names from old potioning journals his mother had. From what he remembered of the elder Evanses, they did not waste their money on frivolities. But if the Evanses had land and investments, as Petunia stated, why had they been living in Cokesworth? It was a downtrodden muggle area where the inhabitants had few hopes of escape. He had been living there because his parents bought it when they were first married and it was all they could afford. His father hadn't, to Severus's knowledge, contributed much if anything to supporting his family. His mother made just enough money helping Rose Evans née White make potions that were sold in upmarket shops in Diagon Alley to support her family. It wasn't much, but enough to keep food on the table. But on her death three years ago, Severus had inherited a house free of encumbrances. He wasn't sure how she had managed that.
As to the senor Evanses, Severus considered there were two possibilities for them to have been raising their family in Cokesworth, even if their house was in one of the nicer areas. One, they had fallen on hard times – possible given that Petunia's college fund had been spent on Lily's tuition at Hogwarts but belied by the fact that both Petunia and Lily had been gifted encumbrance free houses as wedding gifts. Or, two, they were hiding. Pure-bloods weren't likely to look in muggle areas for magicals with family gifts. They especially wouldn't look in a place like Cokesworth.
Severus admitted to himself that he didn't have enough information to determine which scenario was true, if either of them was.
His account manager ushered him through and down to the healers for his check up. Ironmace grumbled at him for having ice cream for lunch but cleared him to interview house elves.
"Mister Malfoy underwent the removal ritual this morning. He is in recovery," Ironmace told him. Something about the goblin's expression told Severus the ritual had not gone as planned.
"He asks to see you as soon as possible."