The Boy Who Found a Home

After a tense battle of will power with a twelve-year-old; Professor Dumbledore sent the boy off to bathe and then to bed. For the remainder of the evening the old wizard rehearsed the strategy he would use when he spoke with Annie and Bert.

The Prewetts were an old pure-blood wizard family that had almost exclusively Sorted into Gryffindor, though there were a smattering Sorted into both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. To the Headmaster's knowledge, none of the family had ever gone into Slytherin.

Albus pulled out The History of the Houses and Their Members from its place on the bookshelf in his study and opened it to Slytherin. He ran a finger down the edge and opened it at the letter P. No, no Prewetts in Slytherin.

A salient point was: would they assume the child was very young and say yes, then renege once they discovered it was a twelve-year old boy? Severus was a handful, to be sure, temperamental and possessing an uncontrolled magical strength.

If Bert and Annie were agreeable to the possibility of taking the child, would they change their minds once they discovered the boy was in Slytherin? Should I mention that straight up or wait until they ask? he wondered.

A chime interrupted his reflective thoughts and informed him Minerva and Poppy had arrived to discuss the matter further with him. With a wave of his wand he lowered the wards and granted them access to his eyrie. He smiled as he saw Minerva enter the office wearing a pale green robe, while Poppy wore her usual starched uniform dress, but without the apron.

"I will be away tomorrow afternoon, Minerva. Will you take charge of the child until I return?"

"Horatio has Severus for the afternoon, but I will see he has his supper if you are late."

"Madam Pomfrey, I would appreciate if you would ask Severus to go through his trunk with you before he goes off with Hagrid for the morning. I find he has only the robe he is wearing and I would like you to see that he has an adequate supply of clothing for the summer," he said, leaning back in his chair. "It's far too warm for him to be wearing a woollen winter robe."

Minerva scowled slightly. "One robe? I was quite clear in my letter that students were to bring..."

"Alas, he did have more robes; they seem to have vanished during the term," Professor Dumbledore interrupted as he fiddled with a red rubber ball on his desk; his hand rolled the ball around in an erratic pattern.

"What do you mean they vanished?" Poppy asked tartly.

"Just ask the child to show you his clothing and purchase whatever is needed. Place the bill on my account."

Minerva raised one elegant eyebrow. "Do you think the Prewett's will take him, Albus?" she asked, going to the heart of the matter directly.

Tilting his head back, Albus removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. It took several seconds before he answered. "Severus has never been the most malleable of children, so I must accent his positive qualities."

"Which are?"

"Minerva," he scolded gently. "The boy does have some redeeming qualities."

The witch looked slightly chastened by the criticism.

"I have observed you continually refer to Severus as 'the boy' or 'the child' when you speak about him in a positive light and use 'Severus' when you speak negatively of him," Madam Pomfrey pointed out.

His white eyebrows nearly reached to the snowy forehead in surprise. Replacing his half moon eyeglasses on his nose, he smiled sadly. "Both you and Minerva have pointed out this tendency and you are both quite correct. I have noticed the same propensity on my part to think of him as 'the child' when he does as I request and as 'Severus' when he is troublesome. It is something I need to more deeply explore within my self."

His hand moved the red ball around his desk restlessly.

"I admit we readily place 'trouble' and 'Severus' together in our thoughts. For some reason we can more easily imagine this sort of thing happening to Severus rather than a random child; yet we cannot forget that he is a child and needs our protection no matter the circumstances," Minerva said regretfully. A wry smile played at edges of her mouth.

"Alas, it has been easier to think of him as a mettlesome boy who is always in trouble than to have him look at me with those confused, frightened eyes and see him as the child he is. My own thoughts of Severus tend to drift to the young man who stands before me for his misbehaviour, surly, rude, and unapologetic, and never for the recognition of some merit."

Albus leaned on one arm in his chair; the rubber ball spun in the air beside him in a lazy circle.

"He does have good points, Albus. While he does tend to find trouble I can honestly say I don't believe he actually searches it out," the Transfigurations professor said softly.

"The frequency of your complaints would contradict that, Minerva."

A frown creased the witch's face and she shook her head. "You'd think so, wouldn't you? These past days have caused me to think seriously about Severus. I don't believe he sets out to cause discord and disharmony. The boy has a talent to attract ill attention, partially through his temperament and unfortunate physical appearance. I have wondered; if he was as attractive and charming as Sirius Black, would we welcome his peculiarities?

"Sadly, Severus has neither, and we haven't welcomed those eccentricities. If - I am only asking - if Sirius had been Sorted into Slytherin would we find his behaviour as charming? And, if Severus had been Sorted into another House, would we be more forgiving of his quirks? I don't know, Albus. I don't know," Minerva murmured. The witch was looking a pattern into the carpet.

"You have given me a great deal to consider, Minerva. I grant you that Sirius' being Sorted into Gryffindor colours my opinion of him; therefore I must assume Severus' being in Slytherin also affects my perceptions. This will require further soul searching on both our parts. One likes to imagine one is unbiased, but perhaps we are not as unbiased as we had thought," he said thoughtfully.

Reaching into a pocket in his robe, he withdrew a small tin of violet pastilles and held it out to the two witches; Minerva accepted one while Poppy declined the offer.

"The issue is what to do about Severus if the Prewett's are unable or unwilling to accept responsibility for him. I cannot allow him to fall into the hands of a soulless orphanage, much less a Muggle institution. We are already reaping our return for the folly of earlier mistakes."

Minerva cleared her throat and resettled her robes about her feet. "Speaking of which -- how are we to keep this information from the general school population, Albus? You know how cruel children can be."

"I imagine that Hydra Snape shared her story with one or two of her friends, and we know how quickly salacious gossip spreads. The question is: what will the reaction be among the Slytherin families? They could either accept him as possessing the qualities favoured by Salazar Slytherin or they could turn on him, shun him, or attempt to remove him from the House.

"Though there is an earlier precedent of a half-blood in Slytherin, if its members acknowledge the fact, it would surprise me," the old wizard said thoughtfully. He ran his fingers through his beard in a slow, deliberate motion.

"I have faith that Hamish Goyle will keep the worst offenders from causing Severus any serious harm. However, we must not shirk our own responsibility and put the entire weight of his protection on a student's shoulders. Sadly, I cannot rely on Illingsworth to protect the child and, therefore, we must be alert to possible trouble from within the House."

"I am more concerned about how the children in the other Houses will react when they find out, Albus. Specifically how our own four boys, if I am honest with myself, will react," Minerva said urgently.

Albus looked down at his hands for a moment. "I don't think they will say, or do anything. They know when to exhibit control," he said.

Madam Pomfrey's mouth opened to protest the Headmaster's self assured words but Minerva spoke first.

"As the Head of Gryffindor, I support and protect the children in my House, Albus. But my duty as Deputy Headmistress extends my charge to all the children at Hogwarts.

"I think there are no finer children than Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus, but I am not completely blind to their blatant harassment of Severus. Sometimes I suspect they nudge him knowingly, and he doesn't deny them the excitement with his rather spectacular explosions," the Transfigurations professor admitted as she tweaked her robe hem.

The school matron nodded her head in agreement. "We are inclined to see only the volatile side of Severus and think he lacks self control. Yet, it is surprising how long he will contain his anger before - phwft - the powder keg is lit," Madam Pomfrey said. "Then I am left to take care of the hexes those boys throw at one another."

"Yes, well, I am working with the child," he said, then saw the scepticism in his Deputy's eyes. "I am beginning to work with Severus to teach him to vent his anger in a less destructive manner."

Minerva chuckled. "He does, oft time, seem quite unapproachable. He has a glare that could cause a cobra to blanch. Well, how do you propose to teach him vent his anger in a more appropriate way, Albus?"

"By rewarding him for proper behaviour."

"You mean bribing him? With what?" the school matron asked curiously.

"Alas, you have a very good point. The reward might prove more difficult than the punishment. Severus isn't particularly interested in much other than reading, or at least he was. Sweets don't seem of great interest to the child either," the Headmaster said. He shook his head in wonder that anyone would not find sweets interesting.

***

Albus placed the Alert Me Charm on Severus' room that evening after the two witches had left. He wasn't surprised when he was woken from his sleep by the soft tinkling of the bell.

Pushing back his duvet, Albus sat up, pushed his feet into curly toed slippers, then stood and pulled on his dressing gown. Yawning widely he shuffled out of his bedroom and down the hallway. The door opened to the wave of his hand.

The old wizard heard whimpering from across the room. He looked to the bed and saw a tumble of sheets, pillows, and duvet, but no Severus. Walking around the bed, Albus saw the boy lying on the floor, evidently in the throes of a bad dream; whatever he was muttering was unintelligible.

"Child, wake up," he said as he knelt on the floor beside the bed. The whimpers increased. Pushing back a strand of black hair from the young wizard's face Albus looked down at him.

How innocent and vulnerable Severus looks, he thought.

Watching Severus' sleeping eyes flutter and hearing the small whimpering sounds the Headmaster was reminded of a sleeping cat.

"Legilimens!" As gently as he could, Albus inserted himself into the child's sleeping mind. With great delicacy he followed Severus' dream, careful this time not to direct or probe and merely ride along the thread.

His earlier attempt at Legilimens had failed when the child had become aware of the intrusion and altered his dream memory. He followed the images and discovered these were memories the child was reliving, not a dream fantasy.

In his dream, Severus was looking around in confusion at his course schedule, then up at the doors and corridors, unable to find his classroom. Albus smiled -- it was not an unusual fear for a school age child.

He watched as the young wizard's homework vanished from his book bag and he observed James and Sirius laugh from behind their hands at his misfortune.

Severus suddenly tensed in his sleep; Hydra walked around him in a predatory manner with her wand drawn. Albus heard her saying, "You're not focussing, Severus. I've shown you three times already how to cast the Morsus Hex. You will soon feel how painful the stinging feels, if you don't perform it to my satisfaction."

Professor Dumbledore watched as the child raised his wand and pointed it a rabbit hunched on the table before him and weakly called, "Morsus!"

The brown furred rabbit squeaked as it was stung. It tried to leap from the table, but Hydra held it in place with one hand. "You're not casting with great enough feeling. If you were, this rabbit would be squealing and thrashing more. You will intensify your hex, or you will be on the receiving end of my wand."

Albus saw Severus blanch as Hydra raised her wand and pointed it at him.

Professor Dumbledore felt the child writhe in his arms, trying to escape the memory. He ran a soothing hand down the boy's shoulder. He inserted a suggestion that the young wizard should go to the door, walk through, and lock it behind him. Severus seemed frozen and then he did the unexpected: he scooped up the soft brown rabbit and ran from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Albus followed Severus as he walked down the hallway passing doors before pausing to open one. Severus dropped the rabbit and watched it hop out into a garden. He shut the door and continued to walk. Stopping once again, the young wizard opened another door and observed his father yelling at his mother. 'Keep walking,' Albus suggested in a mental whisper. Severus turned from the door and shut it with a firm click.

The black-haired boy padded silently down the hallway to another door, larger and fitted with brass banding. He had to lean hard against it to push it open. The room had a large bed with a shroud over it; Severus was shaking as he approached the bed.

"Wake up, Severus. It's a dream," Professor Dumbledore whispered. The young wizard struggled to free himself from the nightmare of his memories. With a gasp the boy woke himself and began to cry.

Professor Dumbledore wrapped his arms more firmly about the weeping, shivering child and began rubbing the thin back in slow, gentle strokes. He cast a warming charm on the duvet, heating it enough that Severus would begin to feel warm and very safe.

The eyes slowly drooped shut again. As the child relaxed, he stretched exposing one foot to the cool night air. One slender hand reached down to move the duvet back over his foot and encountered the Headmaster's long beard.

The black eyes flew open again and he stiffened suddenly in alarm. But just as quickly, Albus observed, the alarm faded when the boy recognized there was no threat. He began to relax into the warmth and yawned widely. The black eyes drooped and fluttered shut. Relaxing further Severus' head began to fall onto the Headmaster's stomach. Severus pushed at the pillow of Albus' stomach to make it more comfortable and sighed.

***

***

Sirius Black smiled politely to his mother's guests, but inwardly he felt irritated. His mother entertained the crème de la crème of pure-blood witch society twice a year. Once at the Christmas holidays, when she could have the house-elves decorate the house to an extravagance rarely seen; the second time she opened her house was during the summer when her garden was in its prime.

The front door chimes rang and he watched Kreacher open the door to a witch younger than his mother. The woman had obviously dyed platinum hair and wore a tight, form-fitting red lace dress which accentuated her every curve. Horrified at the stiffness in his groin, he squirmed uncomfortably; for once he was grateful for the full robes his mother had insisted he wear while at home. Think of McGonagall, think of McGonagall. The stirring diminished. He vowed not to look at the woman again, lest he embarrass himself.

Standing at the parlour door, Sirius was poised to direct the old witches up the stairs to the toilet or out into the garden. At least it kept him from having to converse with his mother's friends. He couldn't wait to write to James about the smelly old bats who whined about the lack of manners in today's young wizards. It appeared that none of today's youth could match those of the ancient bygone days.

"You're looking very fine, Sirius." His mother's best friend, Mrs. Withers, smiled seductively at him. Sirius found a reason to flee and remain in the shadows.

It was all very boring until one ancient witch, far older than the others, lost control of a sneeze and blasted a hole in one of the paintings on the wall. Sirius ignored the droning chatter around him.

Kreacher snarled at him as he passed with trays of drinks and finger foods for the guests. The young Gryffindor had the urge to kick or trip the wretched house-elf, but his mother glared at him as if she'd read his mind.

Bored, he wandered down the corridor into the library.

"...lost your husband," Sirius heard a short, plump witch say with a modicum of sympathy.

"Yes, I got rid of that cheating husband two months ago," the witch in red lace said coolly.

"Really... I am sorry, I haven't seen you in a long while and I have forgotten your name," a tall, elegant witch said in a bored tone.

"Hydra."

"Oh, yes! Now I remember -- you married and then deserted your husband before he finally divorced you. What was his name?"

It was quiet for a long pause before the witch in red lace responded testily, "I remarried Lenis Snape, the intellectual Muggle loving bastard, after the Muggle bitch's untimely death." A titter rose from the women in the library.

Snape? Sirius became very interested in the witches' gossip; he had to get into the room. He looked around and saw his excuse, a tray of edibles.

His mother nodded approvingly at him when she entered the room and noticed he was circulating it to her guests.

"Your husband is a pure-blood, isn't he?" a fourth grey haired witch asked pointedly.

"Was, my dear. I made certain he paid for his crime." The woman laughed coldly.

"Really?" asked a fifth witch Sirius didn't know. "He didn't really take a Muggle into his bed for more than just the one night, did he?"

"He kept her."

"As a pet?" the first plump witch asked her face full of incredulity.

"He got the whore pregnant," Hydra hissed, and her face grew ugly. Her hands clenched into fists.

Sirius put the tray down on a side table. Snivellus has a half-blood sibling somewhere? Oh, James will love this!

"It isn't as though you ever went willingly to Lenis' bed. Besides, he spent all his time in libraries, how else was he supposed to get an heir?" the taller witch asked cruelly.

Sirius' mouth fell open in surprise.

"It is a pity though, Lenis' son would be a fine wizard if not for the taint of Muggle in him," the tall witch continued.

"What happened to the Muggle bitch?" the fourth grey haired witch asked curiously.

"She had a bit of an accident..." Hydra hesitated.

Walburga, Sirius' mother, joined the conversation. "What a tragedy."

Smiling coldly, an emboldened Hydra began to speak more freely. "Once that brat was on the Hogwarts Express, I put my years of planning to use. He pointed me to the potions which began my husband's untimely decline," she said laughing.

"Didn't his son notice?" Mrs. Withers asked.

"I had to readjust my plans when Lenis discovered my private library last November. He was a dreadful bore. But fool that he was, he helped me out by keeping that brat at Hogwarts," she cackled coldly.

"I am certain Lenis thought you were the 'good wife' who took an interest in his son," Sirius' mother replied with a cold smile.

"I took his child to my bosom," Hydra alleged and laughed cruelly. "Lenis only saw me as a loving and devoted mother; while I was loading his bastard with a fascination for Dark Magic. Lenis hadn't a clue why the brat was so entranced with it. That little freak has quite a talent for it."

"You didn't manage to turn your husband against the boy though, did you?" the first witch asked with the wave of a manicured hand.

"No, but it wasn't difficult to turn that brat against his father. I just made certain none of his letters made it to Lenis. I wrote to the stupid little horror explaining how upset his father had been about having him Sorted into Slytherin. It kept that little gargoyle from wanting to come home at Christmas. Then, I saw to it that Lenis named me as sole beneficiary, to protect the estate for his son," Hydra said smoothly.

"And have you protected it for his son?" Sirius' mother asked.

"Of course not, Walburga. I ensured that money for me. I turned that little freak from my door and out onto the Muggle streets of London."

Sirius' mother moved to the window and looked out into the garden a moment. "Was that a wise thing to do, Hydra?"

The witch in red laughed loudly. "Who would be interested in a tainted child?"

Walburga slowly turned and left the room with a thoughtful expression on her haughty face. Sirius

followed her quietly into the corridor. Seeing him, she snapped at him. "Find something worthwhile to do or go to your room." He quickly escaped up the stairs.

***

At the same time Walburga Black's party began, Albus Dumbledore Apparated to the Prewetts's home in the Midlands. As his wrinkled hand rose to knock on the door, it swung open to reveal the couple and their daughter, holding a squirming toddler.

"Welcome to the Shelters, Headmaster!" Mr. Prewett said with a smile, waving the older man into the house.

"It is always a pleasure to see my former and future students," Albus said, his eyes twinkling at the future of wizardry. He reached out for the one year old and his mother readily gave the boy over with a proud smile.

"Headmaster, this is Bill," she said with evident pride.

"He is a beautiful child, Molly. Your son possesses a great sense of trust, even at this young age," Professor Dumbledore tickled the infant's ribs. The child squealed at him in delight.

"I should probably leave you to talk..." the young mother began to excuse herself.

"It was wonderful to see you, Mrs. Weasley. I know I shall see a great deal of you in the future," Albus said, handing the young toddler back to its mother.

Molly covered her child's head with a blanket before she stepped into the fireplace opening. Her mother dropped a handful of Floo powder into the fireplace as the young witch called out, "The Burrow!" She vanished into the Floo network.

Annie Prewett poured tea for her guest, spouse, and herself, and then made certain they all were comfortably settled.

"You mentioned something about a child, Headmaster Dumbledore?" the witch asked pointedly.

"Not just any child, but one distantly related to you though your maternal great grandmother's sister. Alas, this child finds himself orphaned and with no near relations on either side of his family."

"What happened?" Annie was instantly sympathetic to the plight of an innocent child.

Albus took a small sip from his teacup before he set it on the table beside him. He pushed his hands up into his sleeves and looked down at the floor momentarily before looking back to the couple. They appeared to have a genuine interest in this unknown child. It was uncommon for a wizard child to be left orphaned without a family member to take them in; nearly every wizard family was interrelated, especially if they were pure-blood.

"The boy's mother died as he was born and in May his father...," he began to explain, uncertain if he should mention the circumstances surrounding Lenis' death, "... Severus' father died unexpectedly."

"Is there no one on his mother's side that might...?" Albert asked questioningly.

"Alas, there is far more to this sad event than one would imagine." Albus settled in for a long conversation.

"Your distant relation, Lenis Snape married three times."

The Headmaster had the rapt attention of the witch and wizard; they did not interrupt him in his elucidation of the events.

"Hydra was Lenis' first and third wife. She abandoned her husband, he attempted to reconcile, but she refused and he divorced her. He then met and married the child's mother. Lenis came home one afternoon to find his wife had been brutally attacked and left near death. The woman was taken to a Muggle hospital, where she died, and Severus was cut free from his dead mother's womb."

"Excuse me, Headmaster. Did you say a Muggle hospital?" Bert asked incredulously.

"All in good time, Albert. Lenis told me that about a month after his son's birth, Hydra arrived and offered to raise the child as her own if he married her again. He did think a baby needed to have a mother. What Lenis did not know was that his wife was planning on instructing Severus in the Dark Arts as revenge for her own petty and warped sense of lost pride."

A loud gasp from Mrs. Prewett caused both her husband and the Headmaster to turn to her in concern.

"I- I just find it difficult to fathom how a woman could do that to a child -- a child she promised to raise as her own!"

"Revenge? Why would she wish to revenge herself?" Albert asked puzzled at this fact.

"Hydra felt her former husband humiliated her by marrying a Muggle; she felt that it stigmatized her and her family."

"But she abandoned him," Albert argued. "They were divorced."

Albus Dumbledore felt a small germ of hope. Neither husband nor wife had reacted adversely to the information that Severus was a half-blood wizard. They appeared more outraged at the stepmother's treatment of the child.

"Well, it is obvious the child did not have the mother his father intended him to have. Tell us about the boy," Annie requested.

"At first glance you might not think a great deal about Severus. He is just over twelve years old; his birthday fell just after the New Year. He is physically small and not the most attractive of children.

"In many ways, the child is backward in his dealings with others. He can be amazingly naive; he never had the opportunity to learn how to interact with other children before coming to Hogwarts and he often finds it difficult to handle situations in anything other than an aggressive manner."

Bert leaned forward and took a pipe from his robe pocket. He touched his wand to the bowl and began to puff smoke rings. "Is the boy dangerous?"

The Headmaster pushed the toes of his shoes into perfect alignment with the floorboards. The split in the wood was exactly halfway between his two feet. Was Severus dangerous? No, he did not believe he was - yet.

"Severus is not what I would consider dangerous. He needs to know there are strict limitations to his behaviour. I don't believe his tendency is to purposely attack others, he just doesn't know how else to handle strange situations," Albus said, watching the smoke rings rise to the ceiling.

"What House was this young man Sorted into?"

Taking a deep breath, Albus said, "Slytherin." He watched for their reaction. They gave nothing away.

Annie had been sipping at her tea while Albus talked. She placed her cup on the saucer floating beside her chair. "It might be a silly preconception, but Slytherins aren't known for raising well balanced children."

Professor Dumbledore glanced at the witch. "His father was in Ravenclaw. Severus needs someone who will care about him, as well as a strong firm hand to guide him."

"Sounds like the boy already has what he needs in you, Headmaster Dumbledore," Albert said. The wizard leaned on one arm of his chair, his eyes burrowing into Albus'. He puffed at his pipe in regular intervals, expelling smoky rings from the corner of his mouth.

Annie took up her teacup after a slight smile played upon her face. Neither was deceived by Professor Dumbledore's very clever choice of words; they both suspected what was wanted or hoped for.

"While it might appear that way, he needs someone from outside the school to be his advocate. My responsibilities will, at times, make me rule against Severus and I fear he will have a difficult time understanding why."

"Headmaster, if you would like us to meet this boy we will. We cannot promise we can do anything. I think my husband just might be correct; Severus may already have what he needs with you."

Albus felt a smile slowly cross his face. "It would please me very much if you would meet Severus."

Annie and Albert exchanged the briefest of glances. "We would of course be pleased to meet this young man. However, I do think he should remain unaware of my relationship to him for the present. It would put undue expectations on all of us," Annie stated. She waved her wand at her teacup and saucer, sending them into the kitchen.

"I think there is far more to this story than you have said. How did this boy come to need a family?" Albert shifted in his chair. "What haven't you told us?"

"As you know, the Hogwarts Express returns the children to Kings Cross the morning after examinations are completed. I had Hagrid return to Platform 9 ¾ to inspect the platform for forgotten items.

"Hagrid found something three days ago I could not have imagined: Severus Snape. He took the poor thing to the Leaky Cauldron and Floo'd me for instructions. I had him bring the boy back to Hogwarts. I discovered, to my dismay, that his stepmother had turned him out onto the streets.

"I contacted Hydra and her explanation was not what I would have hoped for. She refused to accept responsibility for her abandonment of Severus, in fact, she gave him to me. Hydra was quite callous in her disdain for the boy, referring to him as his father's bastard."

"Abandoned him? That-that... Why I will..."

"Annie, you must calm yourself," Albert fussed at his wife.

"He never knew that abomination wasn't his mother, did he?"

"No, not until... We had to tell him the truth."

"Poor little lamb. You have Severus at Hogwarts then?" Annie asked.

"Yes, he has been with us for the past number of days."

"And how is he doing?"

"As well as would be expected considering he unceremoniously lost the only parents he knew and has been banished from the only home he knew. Often, he is exceptionally quiet, and other times he is quite..."

"Emotional?" Albert asked.

"Y-yes," Albus replied cautiously.

"You mean he is unable to control his magic?"

"Sometimes. Severus is finding it difficult to corral his inner core right now. He can be difficult to manage when he becomes highly emotional."

"I only hope Hydra had to face him in that state - more than once," Annie said firmly.

"If he did she responded in kind, from what I can ascertain."

"Oh, poor little lamb," Annie said, immediately sympathetic for the child. "I hope he got her good a couple of times," she added viciously.

"I am trying to discourage that sort of behaviour in Severus," Albus said firmly, though with a chuckle.

***

James Potter was pulling weeds from the family garden when a familiar tawny coloured owl swooped to land beside him.

"Tinkerbell!" James cried out. If an owl could spit in your eye, Tinkerbell would have.

The owl had been a bribe from Sirius' mother in an attempt to silence him; he'd been troublesome and speaking negatively about Dark magic. She felt his behaviour was merely childish rebellion. Walburga Black had seethed when she learned that Sirius had given his owl a name from Muggle culture.

James reached for the proffered leg and tried to untie the scroll. Nipping at his fingers, Tinkerbell raked his hand with sharp talons.

"Tinks, am I going to have to get nasty with you?" James asked, pulling back his hand from the snapping beak. He examined the scratches on the back of his hand angrily.

Screeching loudly, the owl pulled at the cord tied to his leg, freeing the message. He leapt into the air and thumped James' head with a down-beating wing as he soared over him.

"Remind me never to get a bastard of an owl like you," James called after the rapidly climbing bird. He set aside his garden hoe and pulled off the sturdy cotton work gloves. Breaking the seal, James unrolled the scroll and sat under the shade of the elm.

James,

It has been extraordinarily dull at Chez Grimmauld until this afternoon. My bitch of a mother is hosting her summer fete even as I write. It is just as pretentious as it sounds; every pure-blood witch worthy of meeting my mother's high standards is here.

Someone I have never seen before is here and she's dressed up like one of those tarts we see near Knockturn Alley. She looks like a woman of easy virtue; she is barely wearing a red lace dress that shows her ample attributes and I mean ample. Her tits are like the cushions in Flitwick's class, huge! I had to start thinking of McGonagall or she'd have seen my robe tent out to mammoth proportions!

I hope you're sitting for this: the floozy is Snivellus' stepmother! I nearly wet my underpants when I heard that!

That isn't the really great news, James. Old Snivellus is a half-blood! His father married a Muggle! Yup, the arrogant Slytherin isn't even a pure-blood! I can't wait to rub his overly big nose in it. I can flaunt my 'pure-blood' right at his stupid Slytherin face!

Wait, I won't be able to 'cause he won't have the money to go to Hogwarts anymore! You might ask me why he hasn't any money? His mother, who could have been mine, for her sheer nastiness, pulled a good one on the git's father and got him to sign all of his property over to her; Snivellus is without a Knut to his name. Yeah, she threw Snivelly from the house out onto the street where I imagine he still is.

This is really complicated, so look closely at this. It seems the dumb snake's old man was in Ravenclaw. Snape's father married Hydra; she abandoned him and ran off somewhere. His father divorced her and met a Muggle woman. They had Snivellus; she died (somewhat suspiciously or from the shame of having such a greasy git for a baby) and he remarried the tart. I don't think Snivellus knows she isn't his mother. She's certainly ugly enough to be his mother, with all that make-up and dyed hair.

Can you believe that dumb git didn't even know? Priceless, James, simply priceless. It would almost make it worthwhile to search the streets of London for the little turd just to throw that in his face!

Tinkerbell is glaring at me. Write back soon,

Sirius

James sat for several minutes before rereading the letter. Snape is a half-blood? Oh, this is too good! Wait until Peter and Remus hear about this! Ignoring the thought that Remus wouldn't find this as funny as he and Sirius did, he smiled.

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