Slugging It Out

Chapter 4 - The Wonderful World of Lucius Malfoy

Severus carefully adjusted the fork, tilting the bread against the flames. There was a certain art to getting the right level of browning on the toast. His back was against the carved leg of Lucius' chair. He listened to his mentor's smooth voice, talking to Macnair and Blackwell over the pages of the Daily Prophet. 'Of course, there's a lot of liberal handwringing going on, as always does when these incidents occur. People can't accept it's inevitable. If Muggles insist on wandering into inconvenient places, they're bringing it on themselves.'

'Do you think Mr Higgs will get off?' asked Blackwell. Severus listened closely as he removed the toast from the fire, transferring it to the small side plate. He quickly added a thick coating of butter.

'Oh yes, once things have calmed down. He'll be quietly released, I'm sure of it. After all, what's the point of having the Statue of Secrecy if wizards are going to be punished for trying to enforce it?' Lucius yawned and rustled the paper. 'Oh, thank you Severus,' he added, as the younger boy handed him the plate.

'My father told me old Hildebrand Moncrief is going to try getting a Muggle baiting law passed again. Playing the legitimate sport card. You know; older than Quidditch, part of our cultural heritage and whatnot.'

Lucius crunched on his toast. 'Ah yes, dear old Hildebrand. The law will never pass of course. Might as well tackle a dragon with a parchment shield. Still, the likes of Moncrief are a useful distraction. Whilst everyone is sniggering or up in righteous indignation, more subtle politicians can get on with the real work.'

Blackwell looked up, baffled. 'Like what?'

'Like amendment thirty-seven,' said Lucius in an offhand voice. 'Severus, you can get on with the research for that Charms essay now.'

'What's amendment thirty-seven?' asked Blackwell, shooting a look at Severus. If Malfoy had needed anything else to seal his place at the head of the Slytherin in-crowd, it was his stroke of genius in finding a younger boy to act as his general dogsbody.

Malfoy tutted. 'Honestly Monty, don't you pay attention? It's a very minor change to the Improper Use of Charms Act. It removes the word 'non-human' from one of the paragraphs.' He flipped over the Prophet and began doing the crossword.

'What difference does that make to anything then?' asked Macnair, who was trying to write his own Charms essay. 'Hey Severus, have you found anything about Replicating spells yet?'

'No copying my work,' said Malfoy smoothly. 'The difference is that, if the amendment is passed - which it will be because everyone's too busy worrying about Hildebrand's Muggle-baiting to notice two little words in an obscure act generally used to prosecute old codgers with rather too much fondness for their pets - if the amendment passes then the act could be applied to Muggles.'

'So if someone does something bad to a Muggle, they could get off?' asked Macnair, looking hopeful.

'Not get off, exactly. But they could be tried under the Improper Charms act, where the punishments are a lot less severe than some of the Muggle related ones. That said, it's only a theoretical thing - you'd need a good lawyer to argue the case. But it's a small step in the right direction.'

'My father is thinking about joining these new Wizard Rights people, the Death Eaters,' said Blackwell.

'The who?' Macnair looked up from his essay in disgust. 'Death Eaters? What sort of a name is that? Sounds horrible.'

'It's the new name the Knights of Walpurgis are using,' said Lucius in a supercilious tone. 'You really should make more effort to follow politics, Walden.'

Macnair made a dismissive noise. 'Politics is boring. Anyway, I don't need to when I've got you to tell me - you understand all this stuff far better than I do. So why have they changed their name?'

'Knights of Walpurgis was never their real name, it was just what people called them, since their first protest was on Walpurgis night. Cuffe in the Prophet made it up - his idea of a clever play on words. Since they've been recruiting more actively, they've been using their proper name. They believe if wizards didn't have to waste effort hiding from Muggles, and had purer blood, they would live longer.'

'D'you think they're right?'

'Maybe. Muggles don't live as long as wizards, so probably Muggle blood shortens one's lifespan. And just think of all the wizards who spend their lives maintaining the Statute of Secrecy and looking after Muggles. If they were all researching anti-death magic, like alchemy...'

'So we should all be joining up then?' asked Blackwell, watching Malfoy intently.

Malfoy shifted his gaze from the Prophet and seemed to give this real thought. 'If they stood a chance of succeeding, then yes. There have been groups like this before and they've never got far. No one knows much about their leader - he calls himself 'Lord' something. I suppose if he turns out to be credible then they might have a chance.'

'Well, once my father has joined up, I'll be able to let you know,' said Blackwell, looking rather pleased that he would be able to lay claim to superior knowledge of the shadowy organisation.

The entrance the common room slid open and Roddy Lestrange entered. Severus heard Lucius make the smallest noise that may have been a groan. Roddy was in the seventh year, and was one of the few people who considered himself above Lucius. He greeted the boys, ignoring Severus, and pulled up a chair to join them. 'So, Malfoy, Hufflepuff for the first game of the season. I hear they've got some pretty strong Beaters, maybe we should rethink...'

Lucius interrupted him. 'We? There is no 'we', Rodolphus. I am Quidditch captain, and any decisions about tactics are mine and mine alone.'

Roddy didn't let this hostile reception bother him. 'Just thought I'd give you the benefit of my expertise, old boy. You really don't want to lose to the Huffleduffers in your first game as captain! Just imagine! You'd never be able to show your face in here again.'

Lucius folded the Prophet suddenly and stood up. 'I'm tired. Severus, bring those books to my dorm.'

Severus obediently gathered up the pile of textbooks and followed Lucius to his dormitory. Lucius was perfectly good at hover charms, but having Severus struggle along behind him with a pile of possessions was a far better status symbol.

'I've folded up your Quidditch robes,' he informed the older boy.

'Good,' said Lucius in an offhand voice, tossing the Prophet onto the floor. 'Have it if it you want it,' he added, indicating the discarded paper with his toe. He unloosed his hair and began to brush it viciously. 'Stupid bloody Lestrange. Benefit of his expertise indeed! Like he thinks flunking his exams and having to repeat the seventh year is something to be proud of!'

'Roddy's an eighth year?' asked Severus, surprised.

'Oh yes. He was Quidditch captain last year. What with that and his girlfriend, his exams rather fell by the wayside - well, Roddy's not the brightest candle in the chandelier and he's hardly the studious type. So he's had to repeat the year, and I took over as Quidditch captain. But he still thinks that he knows best.'

'I think you're a great Quidditch captain, Lucius,' said Severus loyally. He didn't have much to compare to, but Lucius certainly was good at giving people orders.

Lucius smiled. 'Of course you do. Well, run along then.'

*****

Fortunately Slytherin won the Quidditch game by a large margin, and the celebrations went on all night. Many of the students used the journey home for Christmas the following day as a chance to catch up on sleep. Severus searched out Lily and they spent the journey playing card games. As they neared London, she put her wand away and said, 'It's weird, isn't it, that we can't do magic now for three weeks? I've sort of got used to it.'

'Yeah,' agreed Severus with a scowl. 'Stupid rules about not using it out of school. They let the older children use it in Hogsmeade when they go there - what's the difference? Boy in my house lives in Hogsmeade. How's it different whether he does spells there in the summer or on a term time Saturday?'

'Does your Mum do much magic at home, Sev?'

He shook his head, still frowning. 'No, I don't think she ever does. She says magic makes the electricity go funny. And Dad wouldn't like that.' He hesitated and then asked, rather breathlessly, 'Can we play, during the holiday? I mean, it'll be cold for outside, but maybe I could come to your house?'

'Oh yes, I expect so. But I want to see my friends from school first - it's been three months since I saw them! You know, Jenny and Lizzie and Sarah. I want to catch up with them whilst I'm home.'

His frown deepened further. 'What do you want to see them for? They're... you know... Muggles. You won't be able to say anything to them. When you're with me, we can talk about normal things.'

'Sev, they're my friends! Anyway, I can see you all the time at school, I can only see them in the holiday. And there's my family too, my Mum and Dad and Tuney.'

'Yeah, but we don't see each other all the time, do we? I hardly see you at all.' He hunched his shoulders and stuck out his lower lip.

'Oh Severus, please don't sulk. You know I see you as much as I can. Come on, stop being such a grump, it's Christmas!'

If Eileen Snape was pleased to see her only child when the train pulled in at King's Cross, she showed little sign of it. She heaved his trunk onto a trolley and led him away to the Muggle part of the station, grousing all the way. 'Why they insist on sending you kids all the way from Scotland down to London, just so I can take you halfway back again, I don't know. Had to save all month for the train fares.'

'Can't you apparate us?' he asked, trying to get a last glimpse of Lily.

'Haven't apparated in years,' she said dourly, 'and I don't think it's a good idea to try now. Besides, it's too far for the likes of me, especially hauling a great big lad like you. Still growing like a weed, I see.'

Severus hadn't really noticed, but now he thought about it, his robes were a bit less overlong than they had been at the start of term. His mother continued, 'You went into Slytherin, then?'

'Yes.' He hadn't been able to exchange letters with his mother due to her fear of owls 'attracting attention'. He knew from the letter of Petunia's that Muggle post could reach Hogwarts, but he hardly wanted to be seen by his classmates sending or receiving letters that way.

'That's good, wasn't sure if they'd have you, with your Muggle blood. Is Slughorn still there?'

'Yes, he never gets my name right though. He only likes the posh pureblood kids, like Sirius Black.' He pulled a face at the thought of his enemy.

'Oh, I remember the Blacks. Very grand family. Is Armando Dippet still Headmaster?'

'No, it's Professor Dumbledore. We don't see him very often, Lucius says he's always got better things to do.' Severus almost had to jog to keep up with his mother's fast pace.

'Dumbledore? He taught Transfiguration when I was at school. Most of the kids loved him, but I always thought he had a funny way of looking at you. I'd have thought old Sluggy might have got made Head before Dumbledore.' She sniffed. 'Anyway, that's enough yabbering about your school. Better not mention it again, your Dad won't like it.'

Severus could fill a book with things his Dad didn't like, although magic would definitely have been on the first page, along with Severus himself. The main thing his Dad did like was beer, and lots of it. Once they got home, he hid his school things, keeping only his favourite books for reading. He shut himself in his bedroom until he had virtually memorised Joking With Jinxes, a book of interesting curses and hexes he'd borrowed from the library, that he hoped to use on Potter and Black.

Three days into the holiday, there was a knock on the front door and his mother called him downstairs. Lily was standing on the doorstep, her beautiful coppery hair shining in the winter sun. 'Lily! Hello!' He saw his mother hovering disapprovingly in the background. 'Hang on, I'll get my coat.'

They walked down towards to old mill. 'Are your friends busy?' asked Severus, hands plunged deep in pockets as they trudged down the street.

'Oh... yes.' Lily didn't meet his eye. In fact, she wasn't her usual smiley self. He tried to entertain with talk about the hexes he'd read, but she barely seemed to be listening. When they reached the mill, Severus led the way to the brick wall overlooking the river that was their main haunt. He gave her a hand up, and they settled themselves.

'What's the matter?' he asked her, after a heavy pause.

Lily swung her legs so her feet beat against the wall, and refused to look at him. After a moment, she said, 'It was weird, Sev. I thought... I thought it would be just like it used to be, when we were at school. But it wasn't.' He thought he could see tears in her eyes, and he tentatively reached out and put an arm round her. To his alarm, she turned and threw her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder.

'They'd all changed so much, Sev! They kept talking about these new girls they'd met at St Bart's, and going on about teachers and things I didn't know anything about. Sometimes one of them would say something, and the others would laugh, like they all knew what it meant, and I didn't have a clue! It was so horrible, Sev!'

He nodded sympathetically. He knew exactly how horrible that was. After all, the other Slytherin boys did it all the time. Lily continued, 'They kept talking about this new band they like, and of course I'd never heard of them, and Lizzie was wearing make-up! I couldn't say anything about Hogwarts, because I can't tell them about being a witch, so I just have to pretend it's a normal boarding school. I'm never going to be able to tell them anything, Severus.'

'They should get rid of the Statue of Secrecy,' said Severus, patting her vaguely. 'Then you could show them! They'd know then, that you're better than them.'

'But I'm not better than them!' wailed Lily. 'I don't want to be better than them, I want to be the same as them. I want things to be just like they were. And home's weird too. Mum and Dad like hearing about magic, but it's like I'm talking another language. It means nothing to them. And Tuney's still cross with me. I thought she might have forgiven me by now, but if I try to talk to her she says she's busy listening to records or doing homework.'

'Petunia's horrible anyway,' he said, trying to console her, but Lily still cried into the shoulder of his ill-fitting anorak. 'Come on, Lily. It was bound to be different after you'd been to Hogwarts. But it's worth it, isn't it, to be able to do magic?'

'I suppose so,' she said, not sounding sure.

'You've still got me,' he reminded her. 'I'll always be your friend, whatever happens. I'm your friend here and at Hogwarts.'

She gave a watery smile. 'Yes. Thank goodness I met you, Sev. You're my best friend, for always.'

His smile was the biggest and most sincere she'd ever seen. 'Come on, let's play exploding snap. I've brought the cards.'

Christmas came and went. Eileen burned the dinner again - she'd never got the hang of Muggle cooking - and the row went on for the rest of the day and most of Boxing Day. Severus was glad when January came, and once again they found themselves at King's Cross station. His mother hugged him goodbye rather stiffly. She was wearing a hat with a veil to hide her black eye. 'Maybe you should stay up at school for Easter,' she said. 'The train fares... you know.'

'Yeah, OK,' he said, wriggling out of her arms. 'See you then.'

On the train, he found Lily red-eyed after saying goodbye to her parents. He put a proprietorial arm around her and steered her in search of a spare compartment. Halfway along they came across Potter and Black. Severus felt his old hatred reawaken as he remembered just how much he detested that pair. 'Oh look, it's Snivelly,' said Black. 'I wouldn't let him touch you, Evans.'

But Potter was looking at Lily's tear stained face. 'I say, are you all right, Evans?' he asked, rather earnestly.

'She's fine,' snapped Severus, not liking this friendly overture. 'At least, she was until you two appeared, sticking your noses in. Why don't you just leave us alone?'

Black opened his mouth to say something, but Potter tugged on his sleeve and the two slunk back into their compartment. Feeling he'd won a small victory, Severus continued down the train.

Lucius had brought back some of his old school robes for Severus, which was just as well as the ones he'd bought in Diagon Alley were starting to get a little tight. He spent the first few weeks of term teaching Severus some new spells, mostly ones that would be of use in his role as Lucius' unofficial servant. One was a tricky warming charm, that resulted in Severus setting fire to several pairs of old socks before he'd mastered it. Fortunately Malfoy found this highly amusing. 'Next thing we've got to do is get you on a broom, Severus,' he added casually.

Severus was so alarmed he dropped the smouldering socks. Flying was not something he enjoyed. His fortnightly lessons were a form of torture, and he still wouldn't fly any more than three feet off the ground. 'No chance,' he said. 'Thanks and all that, but I'm no good.'

'Nonsense, you just haven't been taught properly. You have to be able to fly, Severus, if you want to be a proper wizard.'

'Can't I just apparate everywhere?' he asked hopefully.

Malfoy shook his head. 'Where's the fun in that? Anyway, apparition is far more dangerous than flying, unreliable over long distances, tiring, and dull. After next Quidditch practice, I'll take you up.'

When Lucius finished the next evening's practice, Severus hopefully headed back towards the changing rooms, but the older boy called him back. 'Not so fast, Severus. Come on, don't you trust me?'

'Course I trust you,' he said, irritably. 'It's that thing I don't trust,' he added, indicating the broom.

''That thing' is a Nimbus nineteen-hundred,' said Malfoy, sounding rather offended. 'One of the best racing brooms on the market. It's not one of your pokey school brooms. Come on, get on.'

'What... with you?' asked Severus, keeping a healthy distance between himself and the broom.

'I'm not letting you take it up on your own! Hurry up now.'

Severus hesitated, but you couldn't really say no to Lucius, so he climbed on behind the older boy. He reached around his friend, uncomfortable at the physicality of the situation. Lucius glanced back at him. 'Ready?' he asked. 'Hold on tight then.' Without waiting for an answer he kicked off from the ground and Severus forgot his inhibitions and clung on tightly as they shot into the night, seeming to leave his stomach behind. Air rushed past his face, colder than he could have imagined. He realised he was holding his breath, and gasped as though drowning, the air gushing into his mouth like liquid.

Then they tipped suddenly and he made a noise that could only be described as a squeal as they banked and turned, before dropping in a dizzying dive. Lucius pulled up several feet off the ground, and they began to ascend again in a spiral. Severus, who had closed his eyes, managed to open them, as they circled slowly.

The world was spread out beneath them, the forest stretching away further than he could have imagined. The mountains, which had always seemed like a cardboard backdrop from the ground, now gained a new depth. He could see valleys and gradations in height, false summits, even hidden pools of snow in sunless crevices. Lucius leant to the left and they were flying over the lake, which seemed to glow in the moonlight.

'All right?' Even at this slow speed, Lucius' words were whipped past his ears.

Severus nodded, then realised his friend couldn't see. 'Yeah,' he managed, his voice squeaking only slightly.

Lucius continued to speak over his shoulder, barely looking where he was going. 'See, it's not so bad. You just need to get a feel for it. You've got to be at one with the broomstick. Lean with it.' He flew in a lazy figure of eight. 'No, you're leaning against it. That will make you wobble about.'

'But it's hard not to,' gasped Severus. 'If I lean the same way, I might tip over altogether!'

'You won't though. And even if you did, you've seen me do a standing roll, right?' That trick was a speciality of Malfoy's. 'So even if you go right upside down, you can still stay on and come up. Don't worry though, we won't do that today.'

Severus had to admit that it was quite exhilarating, though he was heartily glad to get his feet back on the ground. He made sure he thanked Malfoy profusely, praising the older boy's skills, which Malfoy lapped up happily. 'Don't mention it,' he said, once Severus had mentioned it sufficiently often. 'Now run along to the kitchens and fetch me up some crumpets, will you? I fancy a snack. Then you can clean my broom.'

Being Lucius' friend - albeit a rather downtrodden one - opened social doors for Severus. He found himself much more accepted, on the fringe of the multi-year gang of 'old family' Slytherins. No one thought to question his blood status. But one door remained firmly shut, and that was to the Slug Club. Naturally, Lucius was part of Slughorn's group of favoured students, as was Narcissa, but Severus never got to go along to any of the 'gatherings' or 'supper parties'.

'Can't you wangle me an invite, Lucius?' he pleaded on one occasion, when Malfoy was in a particularly good mood having beaten Ravenclaw at Quidditch.

'No, Severus, it doesn't work like that. Slughorn himself has got to pick you out. Either because you've got family connections, or because he likes you. You'll just have to do something to impress him.'

He certainly tried his hardest. He swotted up on potions until he was consistently the best in the class, although Lily also showed a flair for the subject and came a close second. But despite his good marks, Slughorn never gave him more than a second glance and a 'good work, Septimus'.

'I don't know why it bothers you so much, Sev,' said Lily, one evening in the library. Severus was fuming about Slughorn's latest brush off. 'He only cares about people who've got rich, important parents! If someone is that silly, I think I'd rather not be liked by them.'

Severus couldn't really put into words exactly why it did bother him. All he knew was that he was fast becoming obsessed with getting into Slug Club. 'It will make all the difference, Lily,' he told her, as he thumbed through his mother's old NEWT level potions textbook that he'd found in the attic. 'People in Slug Club get all the best jobs - Slughorn knows everyone, and he can get favours off them. He got Jones' brother a good job in the Ministry, and Cissy's big sister a charm-setter's job in one of the big firms.'

'If by 'Cissy' you mean Narcissa Black, her sister would have got a good job anyway,' said Lily dismissively. 'The Blacks always get what they want, without having to work for it. It's what makes Sirius so insufferable.'

Severus could have made a list of things that made Sirius Black so insufferable, but he decided now probably wasn't the time to go into it. Instead he said, 'Slughorn isn't only interested in the high class families, he invites people who're talented too.'

But Lily wasn't listening properly, she was staring at Severus looking puzzled. 'Why are you talking like that?'

'Like what?' he asked, feeling colour rise in his cheeks.

'All posh. 'High clahrrrrs'' she mimicked, then realisation dawned on her face. 'You're trying to sound like him, aren't you?'

'Like who?' asked Severus, now decidedly uncomfortable.

'Lucius Malfoy! You're trying to talk like him. Do you think they'll let you into Slug Club if you go round sounding like you're 'old family'?'

'Can't hurt,' muttered Severus, not meeting her eye.

'Honestly Sev, there's nothing wrong with your accent! I have an accent. Are you going to decide you're too grand for me next? Because I'm not changing how I speak for anyone, and certainly not stupid old Professor Slughorn.'

'Shhh!' he hushed her hastily. 'Pince will hear you. You don't need to change, do you? You're just right. All I want is to fit in with the others in my house, it's not a crime.'

She grinned at him. 'You sound proper Yorkshire again when you're cross.' Seeing his face, she added in a kinder voice, 'Oh Sev, I don't want to see you changing who you are just to please them. If you have can't be yourself with them, they're not real friends. I like you just the way you are.'

Lost for words and unable to believe his luck, he simply smiled back at her. Sometimes his feelings for her were so huge, so painfully intense, that they threatened to overwhelm him completely. But he had a feeling that Lily would like him a whole lot more if he could just rise up in the Hogwarts pecking order a bit. No matter what Lily said, he would change anything about himself if meant he could get into Slug Club.