The Music of Minstrel

(Dis/Claimer): I do not own any of the canon Harry Potter characters nor the world in which they reside; Harry Potter is the creation of J. K. Rowling, and she is welcome to him. On the other hand, this painstaking reconstruction of "background events" starting from the Marauder's Era is entirely of my own making. I did the research to make it as canon as possible, while keeping a certain logic, only adjusting some details to make things jell better. However, this is NOT Harry's story at all. If you are looking for things that have a relation to the plot of the actual Harry Potter series, kindly turn elsewhere. However, if you are looking for something extremely long to read, carry on. Thank you.

The Music of Minstrel

The Express

When they arrived home (actually a hotel suite they were renting until the 31st of August, when the Hogwarts Express would take Minstrel and her fellow students to Hogwarts), Lucita was entertaining a bearded old man in the lounge. He was wearing a handsome plum suit, and his beard, which was mostly white but still had a few strands of gingery auburn running through it, reached his stomach. He had the most vivid blue eyes that twinkled behind a pair of gold half-moon spectacles. "Minstrel darling, meet Professor Albus Dumbledore," Lucita said. "He's the Deputy Headmaster at Hogwarts, and he's come to talk with you."

Alain frowned, putting an arm protectively around Minstrel. "What about?" he asked. Professor Dumbledore smiled reassuringly, rising to offer his seat to Alain and Minstrel. "Nothing dangerous, do not worry, Mr. Lehman," he said. "It has just occurred to me to ask whether Miss Minstrel would prefer to have her name announced at the Sorting as "Nimue Evermoor", which is the name she was born to and is listed under in our records, or "Minstrel Lehman", which she grew up by."

Minstrel sat down between her parents, looking at Dumbledore with an assessing gaze. Dumbledore also sat down. "Do you mean that I am really - really this Evermoor girl?" she asked. The old man smiled. "My dear, the letter addressed as such would not have found its way to you otherwise. It was not sent by human hands, you see, but by enchantments."

"Well, I would like to be known as Minstrel still," she said immediately. "But why does it matter?"

"I just thought, perhaps, that you might like to be recognized by your only surviving blood relative," Dumbledore said comfortably, though he fixed Minstrel with a look. "He is also a student at Hogwarts, and he would be glad of your friendship, I am sure. He is rather shy and tends to stick only with people of his own House, or his best friend."

A vision of a boy with straggly dark hair doggedly tailing a smiling girl with very vivid green eyes and pretty red tresses imprinted itself on Minstrel's mind. "Professor," she said slowly, "this relative of mine - is his name Severus?"

Dumbledore lifted his spectacles so that they reflected the light, concealing his eyes. He smiled gently. "Why, you took the words from my mouth, my dear. Indeed, your cousin's name is Severus. Severus Tobias Snape, to be precise; his mother, Eileen Prince, was the only sibling of your biological mother, Calypso. Eileen died a few years ago, and as far as I know none of your biological father's relatives ever came forward after his death, although he was the only son of Britain's Ministry of Magic Representative to China. So I believe your cousin to be the only one remaining whom, by blood, you can call family."

Minstrel frowned, and her hands crept towards her parents' laps. Lucita and Alain each took one and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I have a family," Minstrel said. "Mama and Papa are my mother and father. Perhaps, Professor, if you think it is wise, he may be told that I am his cousin, but I would prefer the name Evermoor to remain private." She looked up at each of her parents. "I am a Lehman, and that is how I wish to stay."

"Very well, then," Dumbledore said, smiling. "I shall make the arrangements immediately." He stood up and gave a low bow to the entire Lehman family. "Good day to you all," he said. In a moment he had spun on his heel and disappeared.

Minstrel remained holding on to her parents for quite some time.

***

Neither Alain nor Lucita had ever gone on the Hogwarts Express, so all three Lehmans stood between Platforms 9 and 10 at King's Cross Station, looking rather lost, with a large trunk (filled with Minstrel's schoolbooks and a large assortment of clothes - all matching, expensively tailored, and, of course, chosen by either Lucita or Alain), a carrying-case of gray, furry kitty, and a caged owl. Graal did not look very pleased at the delay, nor at the bustle which kept disturbing his sleep; he kept trilling a low, musical, but definitely irritated dialogue. Emrys, on the other hand, was quite easy-going; he simply curled up in one end of his basket without making a sound. Minstrel stood shifting her weight from one foot to the other, a book (Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth) clutched to her chest by one arm and the other carrying a bag which contained her precious potions kit, a copy of Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, a few practice algebra sets, her asthma medicine, Owl Treats, smoked salmon kibble for Emrys, and a bag of money, both wizard and Muggle, for emergencies. They were early, but still, Minstrel was nervous.

Nor was she the only one with separation anxiety. "Now, remember, as long as you keep up your studies you'll be able to take the A-level examinations by the time you graduate," Lucita reminded her for the twentieth time that morning. "I know you've always wanted to go to university, and there's no reason you can't just because you're going to Hogwarts rather than a Muggle high school."

"Opo, Mama," Minstrel said, her eyes darting to and fro. She realized what she had said and giggled nervously; the only time she ever talked to either of her parents in their native language was... well, generally, never. She was so out of it.

Alain laughed too. He ruffled Minstrel's hair with a big hand. "You'll do fine, don't worry," he said. "And we'll write you letters. Just make sure you keep us posted."

"Right," Minstrel said. "But what if I can't even get on the train?" Impulsively, she ran forward and kicked the barriers between Platforms 9 and 10. To her surprise, her foot disappeared. Minstrel yelped in surprise and leapt back, causing not a few passerby to look at her.

"A... a cockroach," she said weakly, pointing at a random spot on the floor. The passerby nodded understandingly (although they could not see any roach) and moved on. Minstrel scooted away from the barriers, looking at them suspiciously. That was probably the way onto Platform 9 3/4, she surmised, but there was no way she was running at that barrier, no way...

She saw a young man, a couple of years older than herself, accompanied by his parents and approaching the barrier. They, too, had a large trunk, although there were no animals among their luggage. They were noticeably less well-dressed than the Lehmans; although the parents looked neat enough, there was a look about the slender, brown-haired boy that could only be described as "scruffy". It wasn't that his hair was unkempt, although it seemed as if it had been a few months since his last trim; it was more of how faded he seemed, how tired his gentle eyes looked, as if the smudge of shadows beneath them never quite left. He was good-looking in a very quiet, unassuming way, despite the fact that his shabbiness seemed to permeate everything.

But what attracted Minstrel's attention more was the book the boy was holding in one hand. It was The Wretched of the Earth. Very quickly she figured that someone who read the same books she did could not possibly be a bad sort of fellow, and he looked as if he knew how to get on the platform; she was not in the mood to experiment on her own. She therefore boldly went up to the boy, stuck out her hand, and introduced herself. Nothing like the direct approach to get things like this done! "Hi! I'm Minstrel Lehman, and I'm about to start school with you," she said. "I don't know who you are, but I'd like to, because I would like to ask for your help in getting onto the platform."

The boy (and his parents) looked taken aback by this sudden, brash (if friendly) overture. Still, there was no ignoring an introduction and a proffered hand. The brown-haired boy hesitantly took it. "I'm Remus Lupin," he said. "I can help you, if you like. Where are your things?"

Minstrel pointed at Alain and Lucita, who waved. "With my parents," she said. The boy named Remus nodded, and turned to his own parents. "I can go on from here, thanks," he said. Both parents glanced at Minstrel before leaning over and embracing their son; the mother dropped a kiss on Remus' forehead and cautioned him to "take good care of his health".

"I know, Mom," Remus said. He took his trunk from the trolley (apparently, for all its size, it was rather light, so he could hoist it; either that or he was uncommonly strong, and thus there would be rather no sense in his mother telling him to watch his health) and started off towards the barrier. Minstrel, not quite sure what to do, picked up the other end of the trunk; even though she was barely four and a half feet tall, her parents had encouraged her to take up all sorts of martial arts since she was five, and she was confident in her strength. It was not a challenge. Alain and Lucita soon met them with the trolley. "Load it up, young man," Alain told Remus, stopping him from going on any further. Remus dissented. "No thanks, I can manage," he said. "No, I insist," Alain said. Lucita added, "You're already doing us a favor by helping our daughter. It's the least we can do."

"Well..." He looked helplessly at Minstrel, who was already hoisting his trunk onto her trolley, and Alain, who was helping her rearrange the luggage better. "Well, alright, if you insist," Remus said. Minstrel beamed. "I knew you were smart," she teased him.

Remus gave a small, shy smile in response. "And how did you figure that out?" he asked.

Minstrel grinned and showed him her own copy of The Wretched of the Earth. "We read the same things," she said.

Remus found himself unable to wipe his smile from his face at her reasoning. "Fine then," he said. "I guess I should be honored." He was teasing, too; and this surprised him. He was not a very sociable person outside of his own circle of friends; most people knew him as "a nice guy, but he doesn't talk much" or "he's okay, but really quiet". Not quite willing to explore the implications of such an initial reaction to a girl he'd just met, he quickly turned his mind to more practical matters. "I take it you're Muggle-born?" he asked.

Minstrel tilted her head to one side, surprised. "No, I'm not; Mama and Papa are both magic."

"Then how come you don't know how to get onto the platform?" Remus wanted to know, perplexed himself.

Lucita came to the rescue. "We're not from around here originally," she said. "We only moved here from Switzerland recently; neither my husband nor I studied at Hogwarts, and Minstrel is our only child. Now, if you don't mind, young man, I believe the train should be arriving within half an hour."

"Oh. Yes, I'm sorry," Remus said. He headed towards the back of the trolley, intending to push it himself. "No thanks, I'd like to see my daughter into the train," Alain said. "Okay," Remus replied. "What we have to do is, we go through the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. It won't hurt or anything, you'll see," he reassured Minstrel, who had remembered the freakish sight of her foot disappearing into the wall and winced visibly. "If you like, you can close your eyes and do it at a bit of a run."

Minstrel thought about possible concussions and shook her head. "No thanks," she said. "I..."

"Here," Remus said. He grasped one of her hands in his; his palm was warm and dry, a little rough, but not uncomfortable. Minstrel allowed the contact. "I'll lead you in, and your parents can follow with your stuff. If you like, your mom can hold your other hand." Accordingly, Lucita came up to hold Minstrel's hand, and all four of them advanced on the barrier.

It was almost anticlimactic, Minstrel thought, the way nothing at all had happened. She had simply walked forward, expecting the barrier to slam into her face, and instead found herself in a short tunnel from whence she emerged a few moments later into a bustling platform labeled "9 3/4". The eleven o'clock train, the sign read, was the Hogwarts Express.

"Minstrel!"

The voice was somewhat familiar, and the face it belonged to even more so. As Lily Evans came into view, her shiny red hair bouncing, Remus let go of Minstrel's hand. "Friend of yours?" he asked, coolly.

"You might say that," Minstrel replied, waving happily at Lily. "I sure hope so in any case, she's really nice. Don't you like her?"

"She's in my House," Remus sidestepped, hoisting up is trunk from the trolley and beginning to move away. He seemed extraordinarily bent on avoiding the redhead, who apparently hadn't seen or recognized him yet. Minstrel shrugged. "It was nice meeting you, Remus," she said. "Maybe we can talk about Fanon some time."

"Maybe," he said vaguely. Minstrel wondered why he had suddenly turned aloof. Oh, well.

*

Minstrel stayed with Lily until they boarded the Express; they loaded their things into the baggage compartment, and Lily carried Graal's cage for Minstrel while they looked for an empty compartment. At length finding one, Lily helped Minstrel settle in. After making sure that the owl's cage was securely tucked into the area set aside in the compartment for just that purpose, Minstrel set Emrys' basket down. The kitten seemed glad to be able to stretch for a bit, and promptly arranged himself on a sunny portion of the seats. "I'm going to go look for Severus," Lily told Minstrel. "You just sit tight, 'kay?"

Minstrel nodded. The Express started up just after eleven; Minstrel watched the landscape change outside her window, at once new and yet almost familiar. Now and then other students would pass down the hallway, but none of them entered the compartment; Minstrel was quite alone. She didn't really mind. Having people in her compartment would just take her mind off the rolling hills outside.

"Minstrel? Could I have a word with you?"

The hesitant voice coaxed Minstrel's mind away from her reverie. Turning, she saw that Severus had entered her compartment. "Lily was looking for you," she informed him. "I know," was his reply. "But I wanted to discuss something with you in private first."

"Alright," Minstrel said. She thought she already knew what this would be about, and it was something they did need to discuss, in private, perhaps before they reached Hogwarts. Severus turned and pointed his wand at the door. "Muffliato," he said. He turned back to her. "There, no-one will be able to hear us now."

He sat down on the seat opposite Minstrel, avoiding the sunny area where Emrys was stretched out. The gray kitten opened a lazy copper eye and yawned, apparently deciding that the new arrival was no threat to its territory, and then went back to switching his tail idly. Severus glanced around, as if still nervous about being seen by other people despite his apparently having cast some secret spell. At length, seemingly satisfied that the only living creatures in the compartment aside from Minstrel and himself were Graal (who, finally having found a place where nobody kept bumping into his cage, had gone to sleep) and Emrys (who was ignoring them, apparently far more interested in the metronomic effect of his own twitching tail), he turned to Minstrel and said, "I know you're Nimue Evermoor."

Minstrel nodded. What could she say, anyway? "I was born so, yes; but I would prefer to be known by the name I grew up by, since I know no parents but Papa and Mama."

Severus' face fell. "Yes. Well, you see..."

"Professor Dumbledore's already told me," Minstrel said slowly, watching Severus' face for his reaction. "I know you're my cousin."

He seemed to try to give her a weak smile, but it faltered. He looked away. "I know it's not a happy thought, you know, being related to me..."

But in a moment Minstrel had thrown her arms around Severus and given him a warm, tight hug. "It was sad finding out that I'm not really Mama's and Papa's," she said, "but we love each other anyway, and I'm really glad it means you're my family. I-"

Severus had, after his initial shock, been pleasantly surprised; he had been about to return the hug, something he had never dared to do - not even with Lily, who had been his best friend since they were nine. But just then, they heard an excited, pig-like squeal come from the compartment door. Apparently, Muffliato - whatever it was - did not block sounds from entering the room; nor did it do anything to block the view of a fat boy with a thatch of dirty-blonde hair and small, beady, watery blue eyes that were, at the moment, trained on Severus and Minstrel with something like unrestrained malicious glee. "H-hey James! Sirius! Take a look at this!" he called, not looking away. "Snivellus has got a girlfriend!"

Severus quickly stepped in front of Minstrel, unconsciously protecting her from view. "Buzz off, Pettigrew," he snarled.

"Why?" The boy named Pettigrew sneered. "I'm not doing anything wrong. Or are you ashamed of your girlfriend?" He gave a high-pitched, ugly laugh. "Oh, I forgot, she must be butt-ugly. I mean, that's the only type of girl who'd ever agree to go out with you, you slimy greaseball-"

"Did our ears hear right? Someone actually agreed to go out with Snivellus?" Another young man, tall and thin with a mop of messy black hair that stuck up at the back, strode into view, pushing up his glasses with his middle finger. "Wow, he's such a ladies' man. And here I thought he was good only for being Evans' lapdog!"

"Don't you dare talk about Lily like that!"

Minstrel looked at Severus, startled; he hadn't moved his lips, although his hand had clenched in his pocket, probably around his wand. It had been a clever imitation - done by a boy whose face was somewhat familiar. "Aw, c'mon, James, you know better than to insult Evans to Snivellus' face!" the dark-haired boy said. "He'll be no fun then."

The boy wearing glasses - James - shrugged. "If you say so, Sirius." He opened the compartment door wider and peered in. "On the other hand, I'm really curious to see this girlfriend Peter's told us about. Is that her cat, you think?" He pointed his wand at Emrys and turned his wrist in a circle. "Transmuto-"

"No, don't!" Minstrel cried, flinging herself sideways and blocking the James' view of Emrys. The three boys gathered at the compartment door stared at the shoulder-length black hair, the glasses, the ruler-straight body - and laughed. "She's tiny!" Pettigrew gasped. "A frosh!" James managed to get out, his sides in stitches. Sirius wiped mirthful tears from his eyes. "You've been snogging a first year, Snivellus? Even I never thought you'd be that desperate!"

"We were not snogging each other!"

But as Severus and Minstrel had said it at the exact same time, then turned horrified looks at each other - damn miscommunication! - the boys only misconstrued the situation further. By now, Minstrel had realized that James had had no plans of harming Emrys - he had merely been baiting her, to get her to show herself. Blushing furiously, she went right up to the boys. "You are the meanest jerks I ever met," she said. "Lily was right to warn me against you - Black, Potter, and your obnoxious gang members."

James looked surprised. "Evans said that?" he said. "Yeah, sounds like her," Sirius said. They were clearly not taking Minstrel seriously. Incensed, she aimed a kick at their shins, knowing it would hurt but not be permanently debilitating.

"Oh, no, you don't," Sirius said, drawing his wand and pointing it at her face. Minstrel kicked him anyway, then ducked as a ray of yellow light flashed from the tip of Sirius's wand. She stuck her tongue out at him. "Meanie!" she cried.

"Why, you little-"

Several more flashes of light crisscrossed the compartment; Severus and the boys outside had all fired jinxes. One bounced up from the floor and singed the seat where Emrys was no longer lying down but instead arching his back and hissing angrily. Minstrel's eyes widened; Emrys could run away, but Graal, in his cage, would not be able to avoid the ricocheting hexes!

Another salvo was fired.

"Protego!"

The hexes bounced off the Shield Charm that had appeared between the door of the compartment, where Potter, Black, and Pettigrew were, and Severus and Minstrel. Minstrel looked down at her hand in bemused surprise; her wand was still sparking. She hadn't expected the charm to work so well. Although she had read about it, she had never done it before - had never done any spell on purpose before, in fact; and she hadn't even seen her parents do it. At home, if things could be done manually, magic was not used, for both Alain and Lucita believed in the value of discipline and work, and felt that doing things with your own two hands, no matter how clumsily, was far more personal. "Did I do that?" she asked, blinking.

"You certainly did," Sirius said, laughing heartily and slapping James on the back. The three of them had dodged their rebounding spells successfully, although Pettigrew's robe had gotten singed. He pointed at Severus, and Minstrel, to her horror, saw that Severus's pallid face was covered in angry red boils - he had, apparently, gotten hit with his own Furnunculus curse. "Oh God," she said, her hands flying to her mouth. "I'm sorry!" she squeaked, stepping towards Severus. He flinched away. "Keep your wand to yourself next time!" he snarled at her. "I don't know what you think you're playing at, anyway, you don't even know a single thing yet!"

He strode away angrily, clawing futilely at the Shield Charm until Minstrel had the presence of mind to take it down; then he rushed away, fuming. The other three boys were still laughing, though they were calming down a little by now. "With friends like you, who needs enemies?" Sirius said, making the other two break out into more paroxysms of laughter.

"What's this?" A familiar voice said. "Don't tell me you've been picking on Snape this early."

"Remus!" Minstrel said, at the same time the other three boys greeted him. "Wasn't us, mate," James said. "It was that girl over there that did it. Nice of her, too."

"I did not do it on purpose!" Minstrel said, indignantly.

"Hey, Minstrel," Remus greeted in a neutral tone. He turned to the other three. "Wouldn't mess with her if I were you. She's chummy with Lily."

"Yeah, well, we guessed," James replied. "I mean, Lily would like anyone who pats her lapdog."

"Severus is not Lily's lapdog!" Minstrel exclaimed.

"Nobody said he was," Remus pointed out evenly.

Frustrated, Minstrel turned on him. "I thought you were nice!" she said. "But you're one of them, no wonder you didn't want Lily to see you!"

"Who didn't want to see me?"

Lily entered the carriage and clucked at the disarray inside. "What happened here?" she said. Addressing the boys with a cool glare, she added, "You haven't been fighting with Severus already, have you?"

Minstrel nodded, her eyes wide. Lily sighed. "Here," she said, going inside the compartment and handing Graal's cage to Minstrel. "Get your cat, and go find yourself a nice compartment filled with freshmen like you. There ought to be a Prefect or two on patrol, ask help from them. Might keep these four out of your hair."

"Okay," Minstrel said. "I'm really sorry about this," Lily said. "I'll deal with these four."

As Minstrel left with Graal in tow and Emrys at her heels, the last thing she saw of the compartment was Lily haranguing the four boys about their serious lack of discipline and kindness. Compared to that ruckus, the rest of the trip to Hogwarts was much more peaceful. Having bought snacks from the roving sweet-seller (Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Willy Wonka's Everlasting Gobstoppers, and Cauldron Cakes having made up most of her purchases, since she had some roast chicken and rice pilaf set aside in a Tupperware for lunch), Minstrel spent most of the remaining hours before arriving at Hogsmeade Station curled upon her seat and alternating between sleeping and staring out of the window, Emrys settled comfortably in her lap and Graal hooting contentedly behind her head. Somehow she did not feel like reading Frantz Fanon any more.

To be continued...

Questions? Comments? Owl me :D By the way, I'm really sorry for the arbitrary chapter cutting. I just wrote entire panels and cut them at what seems to be the most convenient parts for submission to FA... really, this thing is meant to be read at one go.