Rating:
PG-13
House:
Schnoogle
Ships:
Lucius Malfoy/Severus Snape
Characters:
Severus Snape
Genres:
Alternate Universe Slash
Era:
The First War Against Voldemort (Cir. 1970-1981)
Spoilers:
Philosopher's Stone
Stats:
Published: 04/22/2006
Updated: 11/15/2006
Words: 133,299
Chapters: 24
Hits: 12,488

Snape the Younger

Les Dowich

Story Summary:
COMPLETE. Severus Snape came from somewhere; he didn't just appear at Hogwarts. We have had hints of his back story but no one really knows it. How did he get to be a snarky bastard? Why? Who knows, besides JK Rowling? So, this series of short chapter/stories explores the possibilities which include Potions College, Malfoys, The Dark Lord and even Remus Lupin, as well as a growing conviction that the world is not a nice place.

Chapter 13 - Raising Nightmares

Chapter Summary:
Severus’ nightmares pique Lord Voldemort’s curiosity about his training at his grandmother’s hands but he has to leave the country unexpectedly. A murder at Snape Manor causes Severus to have to answer questions posed by the Aurors. Abraxas is worried and sends his personal solicitor along, just in case.
Posted:
10/15/2006
Hits:
438


  • Raising Nightmares

"Dakan had isit, herissca linge pitakat!"

The words were sharp and cutting, hacking his ears as the riding crop hacked at his shoulders. Severus whimpered, his head moving in minute fractions to the beat of his fears.

"You will learn the words! Get it right, 'Dak-an' not 'da-kan' you stupid imbecile! Again!"

Severus moved restlessly, the sharp language with its complex tonal over speak mumbled off his tongue as the nightmare pulled him in deeper. He couldn't get it right, couldn't manage the double breathing while his grandmother was laying his shoulders open with her spell-reinforced riding crop. He couldn't do it, he couldn't, he couldn't, he.... "NO!"

He lashed out with both fists trying to drive the woman away only to contact with something warm and solid which grabbed his wrists and tried to wrap him up safe. "No, no, I'll be good, I'll try, I'll try!" he shrieked, sobbing and hyperventilating.

"Severus! For Gods' sake man, get a grip! Severus! It's just a dream! Wake up, wake up, lad."

The deep, sane voice finally penetrated the panic surrounding the young man and he froze mid thrash, realising he was in his bed, not his Grandmother's Great Hall, his Great Hall really. He gasped and shivered, slumping into the chest of the man who held him close and petted his hair gently. "Gods, I am so sorry, so sorry!"

"Hush now, what were you so frightened of? I couldn't understand a word you were saying. What language was that?"

Shuddering Severus blinked and focussed on Tom's face, taking him as an anchor into the real world. It was funny how the Dark Lord was left at the door of the Gentlemen's Club suite and he became Tom until they left the suite again. The irrelevance of the thought helped steady Severus and allowed him to bring his breathing back under control once again.

As he slumped, Tom eased him back against the pillows and conjured a towel to wipe him down. The boy had been terrified out of his skin and the language he was shrieking in was radically different to anything Tom had ever heard before. Oh, he knew Severus had been trained in a very old and mystery-shrouded form of Family magic but he did not know exactly what it entailed, and he wanted to know so badly he could taste it. One of the reasons he had cultivated the boy way past the level of useful minion was to learn his secrets and perhaps the old magic. Of course, he was a good screw too but that was secondary to the levels of trust such intimacy generated, levels that allowed him to enter Severus' mind almost at will, without alerting the boy to his presence. The boy's mind was still twisted and complex but Tom had uncovered some of his little secrets already without him realising it.

"Want to tell me about it?" he asked sympathetically, freshening the boy with a cleaning and drying spell before snuggling him down into the curve of his body. Severus' whole being still shivered and shook under the force of his nightmare. It fascinated him that someone who appeared so nerveless was capable of such depths of terror.

"What's to tell really? My Grandmother was a prize bitch who insisted on teaching me the language of her ancestors and to give me an incentive to learn, she used a force crop that affected wherever it hit like a localised Cruciatus Curse. Sometimes she went too far and almost destroyed my mind with her stupid games." He shuddered, then went limp, a dull chuckle seeming to leech some of the tension out of him. "I nearly laughed myself to death when she died - privately of course - as my father was devastated. He tried to take her place but he was no sadist, a very poor copy of his mother without her balls."

Tom laughed at this stinging condemnation of the man who had been his current lover's father. "Yes, I know exactly what you mean. Many years ago I approached your father and offered him a place at my side. He didn't have the balls to take what was offered to him, and your Grandmother, well, she told me quite frankly that she would support me if I won but was too busy with her own family to do any more than offer me some money to further my plans."

"They were the most selfish and self-righteous of all the pureblood families, no one, not even each other was good enough for either of them," Severus mused, relaxing in the safe stream of chatter. "If they had joined you, then Grandmother would have expected you to bow to her and if you didn't, she would have tried to make you either by force or by guile and if that failed, then she would have plotted your death. You are probably lucky they refused to join you."

"Why, do you think they might have succeeded?" Tom asked in surprise.

Severus paused considering. "Yes, they might have, I've told you often enough that you must pay attention to details or they will be your undoing. Grandmother was the Queen of Details; she had to make sure everything was exactly perfect before she went on to the next thing."

"That would have been very slow, wouldn't it?"

"Oh yes, but ever so sure, once something was accomplished there was never a need to repeat it ever again, it stayed learned." The bitterness was thick enough to cut with a knife.

Tom gathered the long thin man up against his chest consolingly. "Want to let me in and show me?" he asked, careful to keep the eagerness out of his voice.

Severus drew a deep sigh, then turned and stared up into the eyes above him, noting absently that they changed from blue to brown and then to red as he held them firmly, inviting his lover into his mind.

Tom was always amazed at the complexity of the mind under his examination, full of twists and turns, hidden nooks and gaping pitfalls. In some ways, sorting through Severus' mind was like taking a trip in someone's Pensieve and often the manifestation of Severus' personality he called 'Snape' would accompany him. This trip was no exception, Snape materialising at his elbow and smirking knowingly as they seemed to stroll past various memories until Tom stopped at a tiny window onto a cameo scene that interested him. Snape sniffed in disgust and seemed to open a door, allowing Tom full access to sight and sound.

The small, skinny boy sat on a high stool, an impressive tome open on the lectern before him. The page he was studying was covered in vertical lines of symbols, twisted and odd, that seemed to writhe away from the eye as Tom tried to read the text. The little boy ran a finger down the right-hand column, his lips moving silently. Then, to Tom's intense interest the boy did not turn the page but went to the second column from the end of the page and started at the bottom of the page! He guessed his shock must have shown on his face because the Snape manifestation hissed a laugh at his expense and turned away to the memory bookshelf, pulling out a thin book.

"This is the primer, if you are interested," Snape commented as Tom took the book and studied it closely. "And these are the dictionary and grammar primers." He handed Tom two more books which were obviously part of the same set.

Tom was loath to let the books go even though they were only traces of memory inside his young lover's head. These three books could be the key to a whole new world, a key everyone around the magical world thought didn't exist. He made a quick mental inventory of the library, noting the layout and position of the landscape from the small, mullioned window. He also watched closely as the books were replaced in the bookshelf, marking the placement on the shelf very carefully.

They moved on, away from the younger Severus into a Great Hall with a throne at the far end. The woman who sat straight-backed on the throne was very obviously related to Severus, the same long face and black hair but wings of grey fanned out from her temples. She had a sneer that was good enough to make Severus' sneer look like a thin imitation as she stared down her nose at the small boy grovelling at her feet. A riding crop of Muggle design hovered in a very non-Muggle way near the boy's head. The young boy Severus was repeating what was obviously a catechism in the lesson he had been learning from the big book. He was speaking, reciting the sounds and drawing the figures on the blackboard at his side. The boy made a noise like a strangled cat and drew a figure, then jumped when the riding crop slashed across his shoulders with a whistling force.

Tom jumped and Snape hissed angrily as the crop drew back, the boy shuddering before restating the sound and earning another hefty blow. He almost faltered but he managed not to smear the figure he was drawing on the large pad. The crop hovered but did not connect as the boy continued the recitation with no further reaction to the blows. Tom turned to check with Snape and startled, a look of pure, malignant hatred being shot at the woman on the throne. Obviously Snape remembered the memory and knew how much pain the blows had caused. If looks were enough for Avada Kadavra, then his grandmother would have dropped dead on the spot.

He jumped when the crop hissed through the air and cracked on flesh again as the boy mis-said another sound, this time laying open the fabric of the boy's robe. Tom suddenly realised that the blows were growing harder and harder with each mistake. Another blow landed and the boy hissed as a flap of material fell open enough to show bloodied flesh under the fabric. Another blow landed half a second later and sent shreds of flesh flying. The small boy mewled, shivering in shock but it was enough noise to cause the sadistic woman to grin and rise unhurriedly to lay hand on her riding crop. Snape shivered and started forward but there was nothing to be done against a mere memory, a shadow of the past event. Tom tried to grasp Snape's arm but of course, his hand would not connect, nor could Snape's back take the blows for his younger self.

The Legilimens fell apart and both men shuddered when they found themselves in their own bodies, huddled together before a rather burned down fire. Severus coughed hackingly in an effort to stifle the sob that was threatening to escape his control. Tom sighed and pulled him closer, petting his hair off his forehead and dropping a kiss on the high, clear brow. A flick of a hand brought a brandy flying over at his command and he forced Severus to sip the warming liquor. Gathering the shuddering body closer again, he pulled the blankets up to Severus' chin and rocked him gently until the shudders faded to mere, occasional shivers.

"Okay?" Tom asked some ten minutes later. "Humm, I see what you mean about going too far. You have to be able to earn rewards to offset punishment in some way. How long did it take you to learn that... alphabet?"

"Yes, the alphabet, all fifty letters and three tonal ranges with three written forms for each letter," Severus muttered in disgust. "It's a complex language based on tones and tenses with genders for certain items and actions."

"At least you had primers," Tom consoled gently.

Severus sighed, snuggling close and half asleep. "True, but they were so old the charms were a bit worn so some of the sounds weren't exactly clear in places which was a problem. But Grandmother didn't take any excuses, not even legitimate ones!" His last words were almost engulfed by a yawn.

"Go to sleep my Severus, I will ward and keep you from harm," Tom promised with a fond smile that had a hint of gloating and triumph hidden in it where Severus could not see or hear it. The boy had just given him a gift that was so great, he could not plumb the depth or span the breadth of it in one thought or even a week of contemplation.

~~*~~

There was a stunned silence in the hall, then one by one the guests raised their voices in protest over the Dark Lord's latest announcement. He shook his head and glanced over to where Karkaroff, Lucius and Severus stood in a loose group to one side of the room. Severus was impassive as usual, the other two almost as good at hiding their emotions. For a moment the Dark Lord thought he was going to lash out at the vociferous crowd below his dais, but the sight of his three young men steadied his temper and he merely cast a silencing hex over the lot of them.

"I have to go out of the country to continue my studies for a time; this is my wish and my imperative. No one and nothing will stand in my way. One more comment, one more wail or denial and I will be forced to act." A wave cancelled the dumbing hex but not a sound was heard as the Lord turned away and left the stage. It was only after a few minutes that the speculation began again.

"So, where's he off to, Snape?" Parkinson asked slyly only to be quelled by a flat black stare that seemed to crawl inside his head and make a few nerves twitch painfully. "I mean, if you know, that is?" he stammered, trying to regain ground and failing miserably.

Shaking his head in disgust, Severus ignored the man as he struck up a conversation with Lucius. However, on the inside, he did wonder where Tom was going as he had said nothing about taking a trip. It wasn't until he returned to his flat in London that he received a note telling him Tom was going to Europe to speak to some of the non-human races such as the vampires and the werewolves. His mind relieved, Severus turned to his studies with a lighter heart.

The last year of his potions course was drawing to a close and the competition to be the best was fierce. Even Severus made an effort to study for the final exams. Every single aspect of their studies over the last three years was explored, investigated and dissected, the strengths and flaws in their understanding pulled out and exposed to the light of academic investigation. The practical examination ran over a period of a month while the theoretical exams took one day per section of potion production. Every theoretical paper was more than four hours long with a number of essay questions as well as short answers. It was a gruelling set of exams by any standard and with Tom out of the country, Lucius tied up with his wife, and Abraxas comfortable with his medication, Severus could devote all his time and attention to his studies.

Narcissa continued to grow in size as the baby in her belly grew. Lucius danced in attendance, bowing to her every whim, taking her to Paris for the shopping and Bath for the waters, which didn't last long as the waters tasted very bad. After that experience, she took the potions Severus brewed for her without further complaint, even admitting that they did make her feel so much better. To amuse herself, she instigated the Mother-to-be Club for herself, Goyle, Parkinson and Crabbe, inviting them to tea once a week so they could exchange stories, complaints and tips on how to survive pregnancy with the least strain.

While the rest of the magical world reeled under the attacks of the Death Eaters, Malfoy Manor remained calm and serene, sheltering its inhabitants in a cocoon of privilege and plenty as it always had. Christmas came with its rash of parties and balls, gatherings and concerts but still there was no sign of the Dark Lord returning to his native shores.

"Do you know, Severo, I quite miss the Dark Lord sending summons in the middle of the night for us to join him in odd places," Lucius said idly as they surveyed the huge Christmas tree Narcissa had insisted on installing in the Great Hall. Colourful light balls and small stars danced and twined through the branches, a heap of colourfully wrapped gifts already accumulated around the trunk.

Severus sighed, casting a small glamour that turned the scattering of pinecones into small birds which sang sweetly. "I miss him too. Your father is a good chess player but he doesn't stretch me like Tom does."

"And the chess is all you miss, is it?" Lucius teased slyly. "Perhaps you need a small itch scratching, do you?"

Severus glanced at Lucius and smiled. "Not yet but it is getting that way."

"Maybe he will come back for Christmas," Lucius said consolingly. "If not, then I know what to give you for a Christmas gift."

Severus burst out laughing.

The Dark Lord did not return in time for Christmas but the Malfoys spent a good holiday, one of the best Severus could remember. He received more presents than ever before in his life, from many people he could barely remember meeting. Some were so obviously bribes of good will, he was almost tempted to send them back with an exploding hex hidden in the wrappings. Lucius and Narcissa both talked him out of it, telling him to enjoy the gift but to take it as a tribute, not a bribe of favour. If anyone made a comment then he could always tell them they were fools and he was not corruptible like that.

New Year's Eve saw a heavy fall of snow turn the Manor's grounds into an iced confection, and the guests for the New Year's Ball were offered sleigh rides around the grounds in a fur-lined and spell-charmed sleigh, pulled by two dappled grey unicorns with bells on their harness. The orchestra played all night, the bells rang out at midnight and the guests rang in the New Year with champagne and a huge Yule Log blazing in the fireplace.

On the fifth of January, the day before his birthday, Severus received a summons to Snape Manor, unexpected and very unwelcome. He glared at the Eagle owl mercilessly until it took off in a huff, leaving a couple of loose feathers behind. Taking the note with him, he stormed down to breakfast, his mood foul as he slumped in his chair. Both Narcissa and Abraxas drew back hurriedly when the young man bit their heads off over mere civilities.

"Ooh, someone got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning, or was it the wrong bed?" Narcissa snapped back sarcastically.

"Well, it wasn't your bed so it couldn't have been all that bad," he snapped back, pouring tea and snarling at the elf who offered him Eggs Benedict.

"Severus, the things you say!" Narcissa cooed angrily. "However would Lucius or even worse, the Dark Lord react if they found you cheating in such a terribly perverse way?"

Severus drew a deep breath, ready to blast her, then blew it out again grumpily. "I had two owls in quick succession, not a very welcome thing but one I have to respond to, okay, so please, just let me sulk in peace!"

"What were they about?" Abraxas asked gently, buttering toast and adding strawberry jam by the spoonful.

"I have to go to Snape Manor and meet some Auror or someone. My Master of Ceremonies has met with an accident or was murdered or something, according to the first owl. The second was from the head of the Aurory at the Ministry and they want me to come and confirm it."

"That he's dead?" Narcissa asked in surprise.

"I don't know, it was quite ambiguous," Severus replied slowly.

"I will send one of my aides with you," Abraxas decided swiftly. "He can stand as an impartial witness, just in case someone is playing games."

About to refuse, Severus relented and nodded reluctantly. "Very well, that makes sense."

~~*~~

The wards on Snape Manor were humming angrily when Severus apparated into the front courtyard, the witness Abraxas had provided arriving half a second after him. The man was a barrister and was prepared to record all events, no matter how mundane they were, for future recall. Severus was still unsure of why he needed a witness but he knew Abraxas was more experienced than he so he didn't argue.

The front facade of Snape Manor was very plain and ordinary compared to Malfoy, a single door bound in iron under a simple porch rather than an elaborate pillared portico. There were three steps leading up, that was true but they were grey granite and unadorned, functional in the extreme. As Severus approached the door, it opened obligingly, a house-elf snapping into being to immediately welcome the Master home.

Severus shivered and nodded as he glided carefully into the Great Hall, glancing at the floor in front of the stairs. The shadow of a body lay on the honey wood flooring, the withered old features of his Master of Rites looking slack and dazed, his neck twisted at a very peculiar angle. Sighing deeply, Severus bit his lip as a few memories of the old man surfaced briefly but barely ruffled his tightly held control. He almost levitated when a pop sounded too close for comfort and an Auror appeared to his left, a second Auror apparating in to his right so he was bracketed by red-clad menace.

"Well, well, we meet again," the right hand woman said silkily, her wand half drawn even as her colleague edged closer from the left.

"Severus Snape, potions student and suspected Death Eater," the left hand one said harshly, reaching out a hand to grasp Severus' left arm. "If I was to pull up this sleeve, what do you think I would see?"

The witness coughed depreciatingly and moved forward, breaking the growing tension. "My client was summoned here by you for some purpose of identification. If you are going to simply harass him, then I will advise him to leave immediately, expel you from his property and lodge a complaint with your superiors."

"And who are you?" The right hand Auror demanded, spinning on her toes.

"I am Monalias Trelawney, attorney for Lord Severus Snape. Please identify yourselves for the record, as the law dictates."

The woman snorted in disgust then snapped. "Alice Longbottom, Auror Constable."

"Alastor Moody, Auror Sergeant," the man said in equal disgust, their names and titles activating the magic that verified their words.

"Very well, please continue with the business at hand and do not subject my client to harassment again or - as I have already indicated - this meeting will be terminated with prejudice."

Both Aurors backed off, but if looks were Avada Kadavra then Severus would have been dead ten times over. As it was, Alastor stomped away, his false leg sending echoes up to the rafters before he turned dramatically. "Do you recognise the body there at the foot of the stairs?" he demanded harshly.

"Ehem," the lawyer coughed discretely. "There is no body at the foot of the stairs."

Alastor snarled and Alice ground her teeth but both Aurors knew they were caught. "Do you recognise the semblance of a dead body at the foot of the stairs?" Alice snapped angrily.

"Ehem, there is a semblance at the foot of the stairs but it is not yet established that it is the semblance of a dead person or a living person," he said meticulously.

It was Trelawney's turn to be the subject of the glare but he didn't drop dead either, merely blinking in what seemed to be befuddled patience. The grinding of Alastor's teeth could be distinctly heard in the silence that followed.

"Do you know this body or not?" Alice snapped, her patience entirely lost.

"The semblance seems to be that of my Master of Rites, whom, I was informed by an owl from his wife this morning, met with an accident some time yesterday or last night," Severus replied courteously in the face of their temper.

"So you admit you know the man?" Alastor pounced eagerly.

"I know, or rather, knew the man whom your semblance resembles but whether that is the man in the semblance I cannot ascertain." Severus replied, having caught the drift of the way the lawyer wanted to handle the situation.

"What game are you playing, Snape?" Longbottom snarled, half drawing her wand.

"My client is merely establishing that he does not have personal knowledge of whom the semblance was made for, but as he is a law-abiding citizen he will proceed as if he had seen the Aurors create the semblance from a real body that was presumably at the foot of the stairs and assume that the Aurors are truthful in their words. However, if at a later date, it proves that the Aurors were in fact negligent then anything said or done from this point forward would be nullified."

"Oh, your client doesn't get out of it that easily! We were very careful to follow the rules and regulations in this particular case," Alastor hissed triumphantly. "Now, tell me, young master Snape, what you were doing at eight o'clock last evening?"

Severus frowned thoughtfully. "I spent part of the evening at the Wizarding Library and was hustled out by the librarian at approximately nine o'clock. I was studying in the main reading room and have no idea if anyone saw me. Although, I do recall I did have a conversation with Lacrima Drearwth, a Masters candidate on the properties and uses of night crawler gut in sleeping potions. I have no idea what time that was. After leaving the library I apparated straight back to Malfoy and played chess with Abraxas until after midnight, expecting to be able to sleep in this morning but oh no, some idiot owl had to drag me out of bed at the crack of dawn, then your less than polite summons came half an hour later."

"Who else has access to this Manor?" Alice demanded rudely.

"None of the family and very few of the servants; the Master of Rites and his immediate apprentice had access to the great hall and the lesser halls upstairs but apart from the house-elves, the place is deserted."

"What about you?"

"Me? I wouldn't come here if the place was on fire and I am only here because your ministry threatened me with immediate and unconditionally arrest if I didn't cooperate. I personally hate the place and hope it does destroy itself spontaneously, preferably with everything in it!"

"Seems like a fine house to me," Alice said thoughtfully and began to wander further into the Great Hall, a swirl of dust coming from under her feet. "I thought you said the house-elves were in charge of cleaning the place?" she sneered, kicking a foot to stir up more dust.

"They won't go any further into the hall than that line of demarcation," Snape said almost cheerfully.

"Oh, and why not?"

"Because my grandmother doesn't like it."

"Veraline Snape is dead...," Alastor began when a shriek of sheer fury split the air and Alice was suddenly tossed high and suspended midair, whirled around and bounced off the ceiling. No matter how she struggled and writhed, she could not get free, then the blows started, making her swear and yelp in pain.

"Force crop," Severus stated with relish. "It's lost a lot of its impact thanks to being non-corporal but it still hurts. It gives the house-elves a nasty jolt so I gave permission for them to stop going into the Great Hall."

"Get her down!" Alastor demanded furiously as he strode forward, only to be almost caught himself, only a quick skip back ward saved him from the same fate. "Merlin Snape, do something, she's pregnant!"

Severus snorted and stepped forward until his toes were neatly aligned with the edge of the dust line. Squaring his shoulders, he lifted his hands, palm out and began to recite in the language his grandmother had taken so much time and pain to teach him. The snarling hissing words, caught the ghost's attention and Alice was dropped to the ground with a thump as the apparition swooped forward and slammed into a wall a mere centimetre from the end of Snape's nose. Alastor gingerly edged forward and grabbed Alice's robe, dragging her over the safe line as Snape's habitually sullen expression morphed into a smile of pure evil.

"Haz griktak, morenx? Faldinas majaka zatax hebruss! Faldah!"

Whatever he said drove the ghost to new heights of fury, making it slam into the wall again and again. Severus merely stood his ground without a flinch until the ghost seemed to disappear with a distinct bang of displaced air. Chuckling evilly, he turned and surveyed the two Aurors almost jovially. "That was my ex-grandmother, a charming lady, don't you think?"

"What did you say to her?" Alastor asked almost respectfully.

"Oh, not much, just your basic taunting and jeering," Severus quirked a smile then sighed. "Don't go into that part of the house or in corresponding areas upstairs, she tends to toss people out of her domain after she has played with them for a while... oh." All four living inhabitants turned to where the semblance lay in accusing silence at the foot of the stairs. "But he knew the areas that were not safe; he wouldn't be as stupid as to venture too close, would he?"

"Could your Grandmother lure him in without him realising how close he was? That ghost or whatever it is packs quite a wallop," Alice conceded, limping badly where she had landed on her hip with bruising force.

"The old bitch can tear a house-elf to pieces with no effort so tossing a frail old man around would be no trouble at all," Severus confirmed shortly.

"Why don't you get the curse breakers in?" Alastor demanded furiously.

"Why? All the family knows she is there and not to venture into the house, no one else has any business in here, so trespassers do so at their own risk. She's a really cheap guard spell and she really hates that I use her as such so that is just an added benefit."

"You are really twisted, Snape, you know that?" Alice hissed softly.

"Oh thank you, Auror Longbottom, I do try," he replied in simpering tones that made Alastor's teeth grind again but Alice merely barked a laugh.

"We'll be checking on your alibi so don't disappear, Snape. Come on Alice, we had better report this to the Chief." The two Aurors apparated out with barely a nod.

Trelawney blinked at the empty space then smile at his young client who merely shrugged. "I suppose that lets me off the hook for now," he mused with a shrug. "Would you like to come back to Malfoy to compose your report?" Severus offered courteously but the older man shook his head with a smile.

"No, I'll go back to the office. Last time I was at Malfoy to write a report, it took four days and I don't have much time to spare just now. Please tell Abraxas I will owl him a copy of the report and will visit in a couple of weeks' time."

"I will."

The two wizards shook hands and apparated out to their separate destinations, leaving the house to its ghosts. Upstairs, the ghost of Veraline Snape hovered angrily, hugging her knowledge and chewing over the losses with both fury and hope. Someone was going to get a shock and she hoped it was that uppity, disgusting, diseased, half-bred, sewer scrapings, piece of filth....

04/06/2006