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Chapter 45 The Quill is Mightier ...

Wigtown Wanderers were their only breaks in addition to weekends away from the gradually repaired Moonshine household.

Severus had overheard Tess defending her apprenticeship terms to Lily. Tess was a Hufflepuff idiot for saying she'd wait till the children were in Hogwarts to get back to serious study. They weren't her children. They weren't even her Potions Master's children. For all she knew, more children could be dropped off and they'd never be gone.

Perhaps Severus was fortunate that he was not following the customary route and letting Slughorn recommend him to a Potions Master. That way non-customary terms could be introduced to the apprenticeship agreement for him to terminate it, if there was lack of teaching. Severus was not opposed to repetitive and necessary work, such as ingredient preparation, but if he never got to brew anything with a portion of the ingredients, whatever Potions Master thought that was a dandy arrangement was going to regret it. Even if Severus had to originally beg for the position.

He also had to keep reminding Lily that weeks, then only days were left. Moonshine was pleased with their work. Keeping him pleased, which was better than merely satisfied, was preferable to Lily telling him what she thought of him. To the Potions community at large, Moonshine was respectable. The two of them needed someone respectable. Severus for Potions, and he knew Healers respected the field of Potions so a recommendation for Lily would carry weight. Any brainless, sycophantic cherub with dimples bestowing gifts could get Slughorn's recommendation.

Lily, on the other hand, was feeling great. She was still stuck here, but with Severus. Their constant togetherness was quite enjoyable. Sometimes, they'd work on separate things during the day, but it was an equitable split, in her eyes. Severus was accommodating and would work on whatever Lily hated most.

Their evenings were routine, but if Lily suggested doing something different, Severus did not mind. Although, Lily did not vary from the routine much because she always wanted to shower after work, and once she was done with that, she wanted to relax and lounge around in her pajamas listening to the radio, and then Severus would join her and that was brilliant. Even if she agreed with Sev that they shouldn't rock the caravan, it was still brilliant. And what was more bloody brilliant was Lily had not grown bored with Severus and however they brilliantly did various things. That was brilliant, right? Lily knew she lost interest in things, but Sev was … brilliant. Perhaps irreplaceable. Maybe when she got back to school things would return to their former perspective. Out in the middle of nowhere, otherwise known as Mould-on-the-Wold, there was no one else to catch Lily's fancy. Not that there had been a whole individual that caught her fancy, but she had admired pieces of individuals.

She also had a lot of things to look forward to. Lily understanding of quidditch grew and other than Gryffindor, the Wigtown Wanderers were her team. She at least was committed to that for Helen. She was not crazy about quidditch, and she only admitted that because she had seen some lads at school who were. Lily was not going to paint herself dark, blood red and wave a meat cleaver about, like some of the otherwise respectable wizards in the stands at games.

There was also her dream trip to Walt Disney World, and it was getting closer. All four of them now had passports, even Severus. The portkeys had arrived, and they were at her house and ready for them at the proper time. The Ministry had even labeled the rubbish nicely with the date and time for each one. They also had a reservation for the hotel. That had been a sticky subject with her parents, but Severus expressed no objections to sleeping wherever. Another rollaway in one room with two beds. Lily got a bed, and her parents got the other bed. Lily could easily afford a second room, but they wanted to keep an eye on her. Besides, she didn't want to get into it when they asked how she thought they could afford a second room. Ugh! If Disney World was not so exciting, maybe Lily wouldn't have invited them in the first place. Speaking of money, Sev had already given her father some muggle cash. Lily did not know how much, and had been totally left out of whatever conversation 'the men' had. She understood her dad had to use his credit card to reserve the room, and felt that agreed it was better to use that then carrying cash or even traveler's checks for the large hotel bill that was expected. From what her father had been saying, the Polynesian Resort was a pricey place to stay.

One night, Lily had spent a while lying next to Severus, thinking about money. Specifically Severus's. They were getting paid for this, but not yet. Severus had bought their quidditch tickets, a couple of books for her and the omnioculars. He was also buying groceries, and Lily suspected her steaks were the costliest thing he bought each trip. Severus also paid a share of their hotel or whatever he worked out with her dad, the portkeys and his passport fee. He couldn't have much more left, but he had merely shrugged when she had bothered him about getting new clothes for their trip since it was supposed to be hot there. Even worn out cotton jumpers were going to be too heavy. They were supposed to go to the store, the muggle department store in town, this coming Monday afternoon. Lily wanted to be sure Severus had the right things, but now worried that all this was going to leave him with as little as he had before. She really hoped Sev didn't have his hopes up to sell the house in Spinner's End for any reasonable amount of money. The town should just bulldoze all of those houses down and put up nice ones.

After they finally said their farewell to Regulus Moonshine and departed with their galleons, Lily fairly skipped away from his house. They had the rest of the month off since their homework was completed a while ago, though Sev was working on some arithmancy thing that was using up a lot of parchment. The caravan was crowded once a couple of those thick books of numerical tables joined them. And Lily had remembered to restore the caravan to its original configuration of two hard sofa beds with a table in between. Though after all that initial fuss about her being a girl, it was all for nothing. No one had ever bothered them out there.

Severus was a bit annoyed that Lily was bouncing around with excitement to get out of Mould-on-the-Wold. She could have contained herself till they apparated, and were safely out of sight. He knew she was happy. All week, Lily had been talking about the rest of their summer holiday. Tomorrow was only their Manchester United game, then Monday was clothes shopping for the big trip. It wasn't until Lily was agitated one night and talked for two hours about this American place that he truly realized how much she wanted to go there. It did not seem possible to squeeze in all she wanted to do in one week. He really had no idea what she was talking about, and doubted the hand gestures she was making in the dark as he felt her waving her arms in the air would help him picture what a spinning tea cup was, or something about talking mice and ducks. He understood what a princess was, and Lily told him about Cinderella, whose castle was the focal point in that picture. The story bothered him. Severus was not Prince Charming. In his mind, he used to imagine all sorts of fanciful things about being the Half-Blood Prince, but charming and handsome, never. Was the fancy dress party supposed to be like that ball, and Lily expected her eyes to meet the eyes of her prince, and they'd fall instantly in love before they even said one word to each other? Severus really should give their costumes more thought, rather than let Lily babble out her ideas while he half-listened. A good disguise did not necessarily mean Lily had to look glamorous, seductive or anything even remotely attractive.

At Friday night dinner at the Evans, Lily kept talking. She talked so much she got beyond the summer holiday and talked about Hogwarts. She wanted to make a huge mark on the school as Head Girl. Some sort of legacy. If Slytherins were ambitious, what was Lily the Gryffindor? Severus had no inclination in that direction at all as Head Boy. He still didn't think he'd stay Head Boy till September so why waste any time on it? Some prank where he'd sputter impotently when the Headmaster informed him it was all a mistake with that fake look of kindness that Dumbledore had developed over the years?

It was Lily that was sputtering afterwards, when Severus suggested that he come over later on Saturday because they were going to the football game. For the past several weeks, he had done one meal a day at the Evans – Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast, Sunday dinner and Monday breakfast. With the change of schedule tomorrow, he could come later and they could leave for the match then. He wanted to work on some things of his own, rather than listening to Lily reiterate her plans and ideas. When they went on vacation, he'd see this indescribable wonderland for himself. For the moment, Severus felt he had no knowledge of what Lily was attempting to describe. It was not avoiding her if he saw her every day.

Lily conceded that Severus may be right. It was kind of funny that she was trying to hold him to a schedule, when she was the one always wanting change and excitement. She doubted Manchester United would provide it, but it was something she wanted to do for Severus. Lily was not sure what she could do in return for Severus sometimes, when he made such an effort for her.

They did go to the Manchester vs. Liverpool game, and Lily found it boring. Actually, this could be a day to go down in history because she found football to be more boring than quidditch. Well, she was actually starting to care more about quidditch than who won or lost, but that was different. What Lily did enjoy was watching Severus.

He had been quiet, but as soon as the game began, Severus leaned forward in his seat and intently watched. Like he was keeping an eye on a tricky potion he was brewing. Unlike the other Manchester fans, Severus seemed subdued. He did make some jerky motions when something extremely favorable occurred, but he did not jump out of his seat, shout, and throw things.

Lily was surprised by the continual attention he gave to the game. From his stated contentment that he had the action written down in a magic notebook, Lily surmised that watching the actual game was not a worthwhile pursuit for him. However, it appeared that Severus found football fascinating.

After all that, Lily was stunned that the game ended with a tie zero to zero. Maybe if there was some scoring, she would have found something worth watching.

Then Severus started talking about everything about the game, and even though it was only the first game of the new season, games against Liverpool meant something because the two teams had some sort of history. It was nice to see Severus excited, but Lily did not need him to recap anything, she had been there sitting next to him after all.

At least they were walking while he talked so they could apparate back to Lily's house once they were out of sight of any muggles. Lily wondered if her dad knew about the rivalry between the two teams, or just bought whatever tickets were available between now and when school started.

The back door was locked. Why did mum lock it? She knew they'd be home after the game.

"I didn't bring a key, Sev. What's that spell?"

Shaking his head slightly, Severus chided Lily, "After all that study to find every hidden room at Hogwarts, you can't remember a first year charm to unlock a door?"

"It's aloha something. I remember it because they say hello and good-bye Hawaii by saying aloha."

"It's alohomora," Severus replied. He did not cast it since it was not polite to unlock other people's houses without permission. Lily was capable of unlocking her own door.

"Right." With a flourish of her wand, Lily cast the charm and the lock audibly clicked. She opened the door, calling, "Mum?" With no answer, Lily took over the conversation, "Hey, that's an idea. We didn't find anything good, but with a whole year of looking in our spare time, we're bound to find something great."

"If you want."

"Where could she be?"

"Your mother is allowed to leave the house, but it looks like the car's still here," Severus replied from next to the window. "We should stay downstairs."

"Why?" she asked, before calling, "Mum! Dad!"

He made a face at her, then explained, "In case they are upstairs."

Lily in the kitchen doorway, looking into the dining room and beyond. "So?"

"They may have thought we'd be out longer."

"What's that got to do with anything? It's afternoon, and why isn't anything cooking out here?" Lily asked as she returned to the kitchen.

"Your mother may have intended to get to preparing dinner afterwards."

"After what?"

"Whatever they normally do when you are not home."

"What are you trying to say, Sev? They don't take naps … Oh! Sev, how could you think that? They're my parents."

He shrugged as he turned away from her to go back to gazing out the window. Severus forgot that a stork brought Petunia, and Lily was found under a cabbage leaf.

"Do you think they really still … they don't have to, you know. They have Petunia and I, and mum's too old now." After a pause, Lily suggested, "We could watch television. Maybe they will hear it, and then could act like they were … um, doing nothing upstairs."

Severus rolled his eyes while he was still facing away from Lily, before replying, "Whatever you want is fine, Lily."

"Come on. I don't know what's on right now, but it will all be new to you."

Following, he made a face. How much television did Lily watch that it would not be new to her also?

Lily did not like anything that was on and flipped through the channels a second time, saying, "If you see something that interests you, say so Sev."

She felt she had the volume moderately loud that her parents should hear them so they'd quickly get dressed and get down here. Lily looked at Severus who said nothing and asked, "Which one?"

"They're all new to me so why don't you pick?"

What kind of answer was that? Was Sev being a smart ass? Two could play at that. Lily turned it back to something that appeared to be a contemporary drama with a lot of talking heads. It was not as boring as the football game. Lily impatiently gave the show some of her attention while she waited.

During the station break, she asked, "What if they aren't upstairs?"

"Maybe they went for a walk ..." Severus amended it at the look Lily gave him, "... or they walked to someplace nearby. Would someone have picked them up?"

"No, dad likes to drive so he can leave whenever he wants."

Severus had begun to suspect the Evans were not upstairs, but he thought Lily would know better than he would where they could be.

When the telephone rang, Lily shot off the couch and ran to answer it.

"Hello."

"Lily?"

"Petunia?"

"Yes, mum's at the hospital with dad. She wanted me to keep calling till you got home."

"What's wrong with dad?"

"Mum didn't know yet when she got me. They're running tests. He had chest pains. Could be he overate or his heart."

Lily made a face. Her dad was as healthy as an ox. Never been sick a day in his life, and even had perfect attendance awards from work. Probably had mum whip him up a couple knickerbocker glories.

"I should head to hospital then?"

"You should. If it's bad, mum will need you. Vernon's ready to drive me, but it's a long ride. I didn't want us to set out and get there to find out it was for nothing. If mum can't call me back, call me collect."

"Collect?"

Tunie's sigh was brief and she explained, "Dial the operator and say you want to charge the call to my telephone. Take my phone number with you."

"I know to take your number," Lily replied.

"I know, but if you left in a hurry, I didn't want you to get there and realize you left it at home."

"All right, um, I better get going," Lily said and hung up the phone.

Severus was already standing nearby. He had overheard hospital mentioned.

"My dad got sick, Sev. That was Petunia to tell me to meet mum there, and then call her."

"All right."

"I need um … Tunie's phone number and … um, I guess that's it."

"All right. Is the back door locked from earlier?"

"Can you check that, and I'll turn off the telly."

"We can apparate. I know which building it is."

"Uh, but what if we're seen?"

"It's getting dark, and muggles don't always see things."

Lily was still making up her mind when Severus grabbed her arm and took them both to outside the hospital. "Sev … you shouldn't just do that."

"Was there a reason to delay further?"

"No, but … where's the entrance?"

"Around the side. I didn't want to bring us to right in front of it."

Lily started off towards the door, but slid her hand into Severus's rather than letting him follow at his own pace.

Severus allowed Lily to lead and talk. He had never been inside anyplace so … muggle. He realized he was born here, but the lack of magic did not bother him then. There was a lot of muggle science equipment. The atmosphere along with the floors, lighting, walls, ceilings … all of it was intrinsically different than St. Mungo's somehow. There was even a sort of smell to the place.

Lily found her mother and let go of Severus's hand to clasp her mum's. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Your father's in surgery. The vessels around his heart are blocked so they are doing some bypass thing."

"His heart? But wouldn't he have had symptoms?" Lily inquired.

"Well … you know your father …" Mrs. Evans replied.

"Did he have a heart attack?"

"They think so."

"But heart attacks are for unfit people."

Severus would not define Mr. Evans as fit, but he did not want to become part of this conversation. He knew little about muggle methods regarding health and medicine. He'd rather leave here, but supposed he should wait in case Lily or Mrs. Evans needed something. It's not that he especially wanted to, especially with them both appearing … emotional. It was appropriate for the circumstances, but Severus did not like displays of whatever they could do. Very discomforting.

When they reached a lull where they both looked forlorn, he blurted out, "Petunia."

"Oh, Tunie wanted to be called," Lily remembered. "Um, should I? Or do you …?"

"I'm waiting for the doctor to come out. You call, dear."

"What should I say? She said Vernon could drive her here."

"Uh … I guess that would be the right thing. You can say it's his heart, and that he's in there now."

"All right, I think I saw phones downstairs. Are there some closer?"

"Yes, around that corner there."

Severus lagged behind Lily to see where she was going, and stood where he could see her on the phone, and also her mother hovering around the door of the waiting room.

Shortly after Lily made the telephone call to her sister, a man came out and broke the news to Mrs. Evans that even though they had done all they could do, it was too late to save her husband.

Never having considered Mr. Evans as any sort of father figure to him, Severus found the idea of him dying tolerable. The problems were that Lily was crying, Mrs. Evans was crying, and when they were stopping for breath, they were assuming the roles of muggle medical experts.

When Petunia arrived and started crying, it did not bother Severus since she hung on Vernon, her mother and sister. Their previous relationship was unchanged since she spared Severus a moment to call him 'freak'.

Vernon's original plan was to get some rest and then drive back to Little Whinging tomorrow. He'd return for Petunia next weekend, or some future one based on how things were going. All that was changed

Severus was able to take his leave by referring to Phi. His raven could take care of herself, but Severus would rather go home overnight than drink yet another cup of tea at the Evans. They showed no sign of retiring, and it was well past midnight.

He did return early the next day, in case they stuck to their usual schedule to attend church. Severus was not sure if they needed them, but he had stopped at the local shop to purchase two boxes of the disposable tissues they used at the Evans. Not that he was paying particular attention to them, since the ladies were disposing of them properly, but it was obvious they were being used at a rapid pace.

If no one was up, Severus had considered leaving the bag next to the back door as he walked down Lily's street. They may be sleeping later than usual.

That was not the case though. When he went up the stairs to the back door, Mrs. Evans opened it, saying, "I saw you down the street, Severus. Tea will be ready for you in a sec."

"Thank you, Mrs. Evans." She did not look well. Her clothes were different, but she may have not slept. Her pink eyes could be that way from crying too. As he sat, he heard her sniffling. His eyes darted around. There was no sign of anyone else in the kitchen. Nobody was at the table, no food was waiting on it for someone to come through the door, and there was not even the pot of porridge on the stove. Just the kettle.

When she brought the cup over, she asked, "Would you like me to start porridge? I'm not sure how long you'd have to wait for the others."

"That's all right. I ate something at home," he fibbed. "I did not know if you had enough boxes so I got two for you, so you wouldn't need to go to the market."

Mrs. Evans looked at the tissues. Severus was a strange boy. Thoughtful, but quite odd. "Thank you. That's very considerate, Severus."

Severus only gave a slight nod of acknowledgement while he thought of what he should do next. He could make an excuse to leave. With Vernon here, and living too far away to easily escape, they had someone who could do things for them. Petunia's husband seemed all right last night, rather than having an emotional outburst like the ladies. He also drove, Severus thought while trying to convince himself that he was better off elsewhere. However, he should wait till Lily was up.

While he slowly sipped his tea, Severus hoped someone else would rise soon. Mrs. Evans was hovering, ready to prepare a second cup for him. After yesterday, he'd prefer to limit his tea consumption. He liked tea. But too much was too much.

As time passed, Mrs. Evans was tolerable, all things considered. She did sniffle and blow her nose, but she was not all-out crying right now.

Vernon was the first to make an appearance. Severus considered he may be preferable to his wife, Petunia, and replied with a good morning.

After Mrs. Evans bid Vernon good morning and made some inquiries, she took out a couple pots and pans and got to work on his breakfast. Severus considered that Petunia probably cooked him a large breakfast every morning, so Vernon was not bothering Mrs. Evans for anything he considered out of the ordinary.

Severus was relieved by the satisfied look on Mrs. Evans face as she finished piling the last of the food onto the plate and brought it over to Vernon, who was sipping tea and reading a section of the newspaper folded and placed flat on the table next to his place setting.

Oh no, Lily's newspaper delivery. Mrs. Evans already reached into the jar and counted out five knuts for it. Severus looked at Vernon, who's mouth remained agape, even though he had stopped putting more food into it, as Mrs. Evans opened the window and exchanged something for a rolled up newspaper from an owl. There were two other owls that joined it on the outside window ledge.

"Oh," she muttered, "they're for you, Severus. Um, could I have a piece of that bacon back, Vernon?"

"Don't bother, Mrs. Evans. One's a weekly letter, I'd rather not receive nor encourage." He really rather tell Mary MacDonald to sod off and leave him alone. She should have lots of new friends once that money was in her vault. MacDonald would not need him, and maybe she wouldn't need Lily either.

"Looks like a girl's handwriting," she commented. "The other has bad penmanship."

"It's the girl I don't want writing. She's Lily's friend."

"Did you want to look at Lily's paper before she comes down?"

"Maybe. If she takes a long time, it'll give me something to do while I wait. Unless you need help with something, Mrs. Evans?"

"I'm going to make some telephone calls soon. Don't want to call to early, and last night was too late."

Vernon entered the conversation, "Those were owls."

"They carry letters. Lily has one for that."

"Very inefficient," Mrs. Evans added.

Vernon nodded in agreement.

Since Mrs. Evans did not give him a direct answer regarding something he could do, Severus opened the larger envelope from Prof. Abstractus. Unicorn lung … that was used for an extreme respiratory potion, and in a preventive potion against gas poisoning. Usually anyone needing either one died because the rareness of unicorn lung was complicated by some odd method of harvesting. Was that the one that needed to be removed by a virgin witch with a bronze knife while it was still alive, or maybe that was the heart? Unicorn parts were a particular pain because each organ had a separate method depending on how it was to be used. Most puzzling to Severus was how anyone ever found the 'right' way to collect them. Cutting up unicorns was not the same as experimenting with a vat of flobberworms. At least mistletoe during the full or new moon, cut with a silver knife had Celtic origins. The druids used mistletoe for a wide variety of potions and even spells.

Glancing through Rue's draft, Severus saw nothing wrong with it. He didn't feel like reading it closely. Now he owed Prof. Abstractus a reply.

He looked around. Vernon had recovered enough to resume eating.

Mrs. Evans was fussing in front of the stove.

Severus listened, but did not hear anyone moving about upstairs.

With a sigh, he opened MacDonald's missive. Pages of big, loopy handwriting. He did not care what MacDonald was planning. He barely had enough capacity to listen to all of Lily's ideas. Like some of Lily's they were vague, future plans about a nice house somewhere nice with nice grounds. MacDonald liked the word 'nice'. Lily's was 'brilliant' for herself, and 'toerag' for anyone who was not her. Sometimes, Severus got to be 'brilliant'. Unfortunately, he only remembered getting that reward for shagging. He'd like to be brilliant for other things, he thought, as he glanced at the envelope from Prof. Abstractus. Why did good things happen to him when someone died?

"Everything all right, Severus?"

He looked at Mrs. Evans. She was asking if he was all right? "Shouldn't I be asking you that, Mrs. Evans?"

"I thought maybe you received some bad news."

Severus shrugged, "I don't enjoy lengthy letters about everything the author thinks of saying. It may be because she's a girl, and I'm not."

Vernon grunted agreement. Petunia was an excellent conversationalist, but there were things he'd rather not know. She was a good listener too. No mistake about that. Every day when he got home from work, she eagerly wanted to know how his day was.

"From a girl?"

"Lily's roommate at school. She studies with us sometimes. With her condition, she's become less popular."

"Lily said Mary fancies you."

"I wouldn't go as far as all that. She knows it would not be appropriate. I think she values her friendship with Lily more, and that's the reason she writes me."

"Not appropriate?" Vernon asked. Petunia said Severus was odd. Well, freak was the word she used. However, wasn't he Lily's friend? Just an old school friend, that lived nearby?

"She was almost betrothed to one of my roommates. It's a drama with a lot of characters. I'm uncomfortable with telling such a tale."

"Mary was?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"Special measures would have to be taken for her to have children due to that attack in the fall so his family soured on it. Besides the other problem."

"I thought you fellows only got Lily's roommates to meet your roommates on the train last September."

"It was Mary and Helen's idea. Not mine. They were angry at some other boys."

"Getting angry with someone else is no reason to contemplate marriage."

As the silence grew after Mrs. Evans announcement, Severus wondered if he should introduce another subject to keep Mrs. Evans distracted, or let this conversation die since it was trivial.

Vernon took the opportunity to ask, "What happened to her?"

"She was infected with a contagious disease that makes her dangerous at times, and miserable the rest of the time," Severus replied.

"Muggles know what werewolves are, Severus. Mary and Lily were attacked by a werewolf, and Severus saved them."

"A werewolf?" Vernon repeated. "Like full moon and all hairy thing?"

"Yes, Mary was bitten. Lily only clawed up."

"Terrible scars," Mrs. Evans added.

"Couldn't you fix it, like my hand?" Vernon asked Severus.

"Due to it being a werewolf, they're cursed. I was able to stop Mary from bleeding to death. It had bitten off her hand. It would have come back to her, but it was in the middle of devouring Lily's other roommate when we entered the room."

"Are they … common?"

"They increase in number when the ones that are infected choose to flout the law regarding protecting others. This one got sent to prison. He has a wealthy friend that's trying to get him released."

Mrs. Evans exclaimed, "How can he? A girl's dead, and the other two, or I mean Lily's all right with things compared to Mary … but that's ridiculous."

Lily didn't say anything to her mother? "Well, it's not as simple as all that. All of us that were there were offered money to sign a letter saying we forgave him."

"Did you?"

"Not at first. None of us lads were, but Mary said that she would sign it because she was worried about how she'd get by, since employment is difficult to come by for werewolves. She has her parents, but they are not as wealthy as others. So us three and Lily made a counteroffer that we would sign, but Mary would need to receive a very large settlement. The solicitors then took over and it appears that our offer has been accepted. Once we get the paperwork, Mary will get her money, and whatever the Parkin family agreed to, and then the appeal for release from prison can move forward.

"The school made it rather simple for anyone to come across him while he was transformed. I think that the headmaster had promised everything would be taken care of to his parents for him to attend. There's also his friend, that knowing he was a werewolf, invited us to come round to where he was. That student fled the country, but his best friend, who knew about his mate's plan, was the one on your front porch. He's the wealthy friend who is financing the appeal."

"Lily said he is also one of the lads that smashed up the pub?"

"Yes."

"Oh … I'm sorry, Severus. I forgot about the pub," Mrs. Evans said apologetically.

"It's all right. I know you were just using that example to point out the lack of character of that individual."

"And you were agreeable to going along with the release after all they've done?"

"From Potter's appearance here to attempt to convince Lily to revise our opinion, I think our demand's scale got his attention."

"Was it excessive?"

"We looked at it logically since witches usually have a longer life span than non-magical people, and asked for over two million pounds."

"That's a lot of money for a seventeen year old to receive."

"She'd like to buy a house," Severus said, holding up her letter. "Not immediately, but she can afford to be selective, and have it include what she needs to keep herself and others safe."

Mrs. Evans shook her head and made a noise of disapproval. It was small wonder that Lily mentioned marriage. It was not jealousy of her sister alone, but these flighty girlfriends of hers at school. Sometimes Lily talked sensibly about waiting, but her concept of the whole thing was incorrect. Now the one girl that was left was talking about getting her own house. Severus was already living on his own though not by choice. When Lily got angry she threatened to move in with Severus, however Severus was never around when she made such a claim. Her daughter may think her mother was not paying attention to that, but simply because she chose to be a homemaker did not mean she couldn't think for herself. What she thought was that Lily could hot-headedly decide she was moving in with Severus, and he'd agree because that's what usually happened. Then he'd end up preparing steaks for her daughter twice a day as long as he could afford it.

Her husband … without her husband, she did not know how she'd cope. Lily was going back to school in a couple weeks, and Petunia was living so far away. Since the girls had been older for a while, she'd occasionally do activities at church. Some of those women though, just made her so angry. That was unimportant … she simply did not know what she was going to do after this month was over.

One did not realize the sacrifices a real reporter sometimes made, Rita thought to herself as she checked her face in the mirror one last time. If there was anyplace she'd rather not go to, it was the Black house, especially as the guest of some geezer. However, the news was not going to write itself.

Through the introductions and drinks, Rita wondfered if she should fake a malady to leave. The only person under the age of a hundred, besides herself, was the hostess's sulking son. The only thing that could save this was more drinks. Lots more drinks to loosen tongues. Her eyes shifted to catch a glimpse of that old punter, Horace Slughorn, slobbering over Walburga Black, rather than the food. How could he remain standing after drinking so much to think she was desirable? Oh wait, rich widow. Money blinded a suitor to imperfections. Black had enough money to look almost as good as Rita herself, to that sort of person.

During dinner the food was being shoveled faster than the liquor was flowing, to Rita's growing disappointment. Their conversation was dull and lacked gossip … until out of the blue, a name Rita recognized was mentioned … down the table, away from the head where Walburga Black and Horace Slughorn were making idle chatter.

Snape? Her head turned to zero in on the source.

The son was answering, "Really, Professor? I am so glad that my advice was so helpful to you."

"Helpful? Mr. Snape and Miss Evans set me on a whole new course of research, in addition to everything they were able to accomplish during their stay. They were mannerly, got along with me, my apprentice and my family, and the house hasn't looked this good since my late wife … well, anyway, I can't thank you enough for recommending Severus Snape."

Rita inquired, "What sort of work did he do for you, Professor …?"

"Oh, um, I'm Regulus Moonshine, Potions Master, like many of the guests here. I know it will sound unusual to say I took on two students still at Hogwarts during their summer holiday, but I am very pleased. Young Master Black here was kind enough to remember at a previous dinner party that I mentioned some distractions at my home, which is also where I work, and my apprentice is spread thin with all the invaluable help she is, so he kindly recommended a student for possible summer work. A recent orphan who needed some extra money for texts and uniforms, but Master Black was spot on about what a hard worker this young man is. I was hesitant when Mr. Snape wrote back suggesting that another student, the second also doing well in Potions and Herbology, join him. However, I never caught them lolly gagging about. Both were very competent in my lab, my grounds, my greenhouses, and just general work around the house."

"Yes, Mr. Snape certainly is," Rita agreed, warming to reviving her partially written article. "I'm Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet. I covered that young man receiving an Order of Merlin at Hogwarts for saving other students' lives. It was a brief thing, and he didn't even have time for a photograph before they put him back to work. I believe a lavatory needed repair. Quite economical to use the students to do the repairs around the old place, but I had a feeling that that sort of work was reserved for the less well to do students. Have you ever been asked to repair any part of that crumbling castle, Master Black?"

"No, but uh, Snape's been in detention for a long time. Though I'm sure if he had parents, there would be someone to complain on his behalf. Actually, I think Hogwarts would be in a lot of trouble ..." Regulus hinted. Maybe this evening could turn out less nauseating than he hoped. Why did Slughorn invite a reporter? Was he going to ask his mother to marry him in front of all these people and wanted someone on hand to make sure it was in tomorrow's paper? Sighing to himself, Regulus realized that if anyone was going to save his mother from that, it would have to be him.

"Trouble?" Rita prompted.

"Sometimes the staff goes too far, and fails to consider improprieties. They get caught up with their control over the students. Without it, I know it would be anarchy, but when a staff member crosses the line, either the student has to do as they are told, or face punishment. That's how Snape ran into trouble. He's a thinker. They don't encourage that at Hogwarts. Even the Ministry does not like that sort of thing … I understand they weren't happy with Snape either for his published essay in The Quibbler. It asked readers to think for themselves."

"So what was he told to do?"

"Well, I'm sure this staff member had Snape's best interests at heart. Orphaned, coming from a disadvantaged background, he definitely needs a leg up. Without question. He's bright, but without the right connections, or a friend, such as Prof. Moonshine here, he might end up working in the back of a dingy shop the rest of his life."

Moonshine said, "Oh, I'd definitely recommend the fellow. If I didn't have an apprentice already, I'd snatch him up next year, no matter what he got on his NEWTs."

Rita nodded and coaxed, "You are a kind, young man, Master Black, to consider others in such a way."

"Yes, and I'm sure this female staff member saw the opportunity to work out an arrangement with Snape because she's the very soul of kindness too. However, when she ordered Snape to remove every stitch of clothing to begin whatever arrangement she had in mind, he refused. Disobeying a staff member cannot be tolerated at Hogwarts. I'm sure whenever Prof. Slughorn instructs a female student to do the same, she obeys instantly. He has a lot of connections, and the girl would have to be a fool to cross him."

"No ..." objected Moonshine, thinking of his sweet apprentice, Tess. Recommended by Horace Slughorn.

"Professor," Regulus continued, warming to the subject, "Hogwarts supports this system of helping disadvantaged students. Why else would a staff member help out a bright student? Hogwarts if full of brilliant, young minds. Didn't you go there? Anyway, it's a fully backed perk of teaching at Hogwarts. Snape has been in detention every night since. Even on Christmas. That's a strong message to send to any student thinking of saying 'no' to any similar request. It's for their own good. The staff only wants to help them, and they can't be expected to do that without receiving something in return."

Horace was in the middle of relating how one of his brightest protégées and faithful correspondents, now living in South Africa, sent him such tales of wonder of what the locals did, when a furor further along the table caught his attention, because Regulus Moonshine pointed their way, and if he did not know better, the fellow looked right at him as he addressed someone as, "You cad!"

A blonde woman sitting closer and across from Moonshine, held up her hand and admonished, "Professor, let's not be hasty. It's simply a matter of confirming facts." Looking back towards the head of table, where Horace was sitting, she smiled and said, "You may remember me, Professor Slughorn. I'm Rita Skeeter. Is it true that students are punished for not doing whatever a staff member instructs them to do, even if the student finds it objectionable?"

"You attended school at Hogwarts, Miss Skeeter," Horace answered, remembering she had dull brown hair till fifth year, before she failed to get the requisite OWL to continue on with Potions. "Some students may think they know better than their instructors, but that is very rarely the case. If our instructions are questioned at every turn, nothing would get taught."

"Quite right," Rita agreed. "And outside of class too?"

"Well yes, we can't have students running wild when classes aren't in session."

Rita stopped herself from suggesting anything about werewolves running wild. That would immediately put her prey on the offensive. "Absolutely. I'm sure you have little trouble with students, Professor. You are known for being an influential friend to many of the brightest and assist with giving them a leg up to help set them on the right career path. Do you ask for anything from them in return?"

"Well … obviously they need to show promise. My patronage is not for sale, if that is what you are implying."

"Oh no. Not bribery, Prof. Slughorn. I meant if there would be some reason why not just any student showing promise would automatically be promoted by you?"

"Not really. I see promise and then once the student has been invited to one of my dinner parties, they know that I know, and uh, maybe they show their gratitude..." Horace saw a number of faces looking his way turn ugly, so he reiterated, "Yes, showing gratitude is all I expect."

"Gratitude is not too much to ask," Rita assured Slughorn, pleased with his choice of words. "I mean after all, who knows where they'd end up without your recommendation? Slaving away in the back of a shop for years, perhaps."

"Exactly."

Walburga interrupted, "Horace does not ask for specific gifts. They willingly send him quidditch tickets, books they've authored, some fine pheasants … nothing extraordinary, but all very nice. Without Horace, as you said, they may not have gotten to where they are today."

"Oh yes," Regulus chimed in, "come Christmas, there's barely room in the professor's office for him to reach his chair. All manner of gifts are sent round like bottles of brandy, wine, firewhiskey, mead and there's all the candy, and then some special items like mother mentioned quidditch, a jersey signed by an entire team. Very lovely things."

"Are there any times that you would discriminate against a student because he or she does not have the means to send you a lovely gift come Christmas?"

"No, absolutely not. It's not just things, Miss Skeeter."

"Services? You're giving them a leg up, and they could give you a hand or something?"

"Exactly."

"Do you ever have a student that does not want your help? The price of gratitude is too high?"

"Never."

"If one did decline, would there be repercussions? Like detention?"

"Refusal would be preposterous, but I suppose if the student was disrespectful, a detention would be warranted."

"Disrespectful? I suppose a teenager finding an older witch or wizard repulsive and saying so would actually be insulting. Here you or one of your colleagues are, using a widely accepted manner of trying to assist a poor, yet promising, student, and when he does not have the least bit of sense to cooperate when he should be honored to be singled out for such an arrangement, in which he could express his gratitude to a staff member at Hogwarts taking the time to even give him the least bit of attention … a detention is actually too light a punishment. It's perfectly clear to me now." Turning with a smile to the man seated diagonally from her, she stated, "Prof. Moonshine, please continue."

Regulus Black was delighted. He held his laughter in well, but there were a few moments during the heated discussion that he feared he was going to pee his pants. When the dust finally cleared, Regulus knew the next part was coming. He had already envisioned it many times as he dreamt of Horace Slughorn being ejected from their house with delight by Kreacher spewing a stream of insults regarding his character and masculinity.

Regulus comforted his heartbroken mother.

She had always been too good for that bounder. Mother had been a Black, even before she had married father. Lowly Slughorn had taken advantage of her big-hearted ways. The worst kind of flatterer and parasite, latching onto her at her husband's funeral.

Severus got out of the Evans' home for part of the day to go back to Spinner's End, deal with his correspondence and travel to Hogsmeade to use their post office.

In Hogsmeade, he was greeted by the bar man from the Hog's Head who led a goat down the road on a ribboned leash, and it also had a frilly bow on its head, matching the one around its neck. Severus admitted his education was incomplete. He had no clue as to the magical significance of goats. Maybe he could slyly inquire about them the next time he took Phi to the Magical Menagerie for a treat. He did not want anyone to laugh at his ignorance. Bad enough he thought the one at Moonshine's was a sheep in front of Lily. She did not sound like it was an honest mistake anyone could make.

Returning to the Evans' for dinner, Severus did not know if the fully set dining table and complete set of courses should be a sign of anything. Knowing Mrs. Evans, the food had already been purchased. Petunia could have assisted with cooking. Lily could too, but it was unlikely with Petunia here. When he left earlier, Petunia had been vacuuming. Although the house looked fine to Severus, he heard her muttering about company coming over and how everything needed to be perfect, before she assigned Lily to wipe down the baseboards.

The expected guests were brought up again during conversation during dinner. Severus understood that these guests were coming to attend the funeral, but it was not going to be at the house.

A lot of the details that Petunia and Mrs. Evans discussed were incomprehensible to him. He did not doubt that they were saddened by Mr. Evans dying, but this was rather business-like. That odd phrase of theirs 'for appearances' crept in now and then, and finally Petunia got to her point that for whatever these appearances were, that she could pack up food for the freak so he didn't starve because he couldn't be seen here for the next week.

To Severus, it was not entirely unexpected. He went to Parkin's, but he was probably invited because he kept her body from being mangled further. He was not the right sort for muggles or wizards. He hadn't even been at his own father's funeral, if one was held, and his mother definitely did not have one. Severus considered that if he was the only one that cared that his mother was dead, some ceremony with only him would be awkward.

He interrupted the ladies arguing and said, "I have food at my house. Thank you for offering. Should I return on Monday the 22nd?"

"Don't listen to Tunie, Sev," Lily said.

"I'd rather not make trouble. You should not be arguing over me right now."

Vernon was confused. Severus was a scruffy sort, badly in need of new clothes and a haircut, but if he was here practically every day, he definitely knew Vernon's father-in-law. The man had brought him to his bachelor party, which was a stroke of good luck, and he had borrowed clothes somewhere for their wedding. He suspected that at some point in the past ten years, his Petunia and Severus had some sort of conflict. As long as the fellow remained gentlemanly, Vernon would stay out of it. His easy concession to his Petunia's plan to stay away was good news.

He had a larger misgiving the next day when he overheard that Severus was supposed to go to Florida with his in-laws. Obviously, the trip was now canceled. Even Petunia's immature, little sister did not argue that.

So Slughorn contacted Cuffe to squash her story? Rita Skeeter was not some cow who kept her head down and took whatever crap rained down on her from her 'betters'. With a little reworking and added drama this would be perfect for Witch Weekly. Let Slughorn and Cuffe stuff that up their bums.

The wizards might ignore that publication, however witches were powerful, and may self-important, narrow-minded British wizards giving and receiving legs-up never experience gratitude ever again.

Normally, Rita did not care about injustices unless it meant readers, but when a weasel like Cuffe tried to get in her way, it was going to read like Injustice, with a capital 'I'. Even if it was only about candy, booze, and quidditch tickets.

Another letter from Lily. A letter every morning and twice in the afternoon. If Severus's time had not been freed up to practice Dark Arts, he may have felt some twinge of guilt.

Lily said she missed him and needed him.

However, if Severus were to apply what he knew logically, Lily was stubborn. She'd say anything, wouldn't she? Lily was right, and Petunia was wrong, and Severus always took Lily's side against Petunia. That's the way it was supposed to be every time.

The reason being Severus was Lily's friend. Nothing more than a friend. Never would be anything more than best friend that Lily shagged at school. In a few years, Lily would not even admit that. She hardly admitted the shagging part now.

Petunia knew Severus was Lily's freak friend from Spinner's End that was allowed to dirty up their house because he was hungry. Now that Severus was not hungry, he could admit he was lonely as a reason to visit. Lily understood what he said, when she listened, and she honestly made a better companion than Phi.

Severus liked being with Lily, except when she was a complete dunderhead. At those times, he could either laugh at her, or protect her from herself.

There was also Mrs. Evans. She made a valid point that she did not want her daughters arguing. As Severus saw it, Petunia allowed him to attend her wedding so it was now his turn to be the gracious one. Besides, Lily preferred to sit around complaining then, rather than dancing with him. He also recalled Parkin's funeral with Lily's questions, telling him to sit, stand, sit, stand … like he was her puppet. It was without doubt better for his temper to avoid the whole thing.

For the past two days, he had been cleaning out his parents' bedroom. His irrational feelings towards the room were over. If he found himself with an immediate apprenticeship, he may want to sell Spinner's End to muggles quickly. He read that prospective buyers for muggle properties should be able to envision themselves living in the house. Severus supposed the same was true for wizard properties. His parents' bedroom was not 'inviting' so it needed changes.

About noon, Phi flew into the window to let him know his mate and another person were at the front door. He made a face at his familiar. She was not able to comprehend that Lily mindlessly copulating did not mean she was his mate. Lily was quite clear on that.

He hesitated briefly, thinking maybe he should not go to the door. Severus did not know what he wanted ultimately with Lily, but he didn't want to leave her standing around in Spinner's End, knocking on the door.

There was no one at the front door when he opened it. He stepped out and looked around in annoyance. He did not delay long in coming down.

Going back inside, he called Phi. Severus doubted she had made a mistake.

When he walked into the kitchen, he saw why Lily was not at the front door. She was peering in the kitchen window. Dursley was with her. Why was she bringing all these different people to his house? The only reason Lily liked it was they were alone to shag. Mr. and Mrs. Evans certainly had not liked his house. He supposed it could be worse. Petunia could be out there with her nose so far in the air, she'd drown if it started to rain again.

Lily saw Severus meander into the kitchen. She had been worried when he didn't answer the front door promptly.

He opened the back door and asked, "What?"

"We have so much food at our house, I thought we'd come over with some for your lunch and later," Lily said, looking closely at Severus. He looked horrible. She doubted he had washed his hair or anything else since she last saw him. His eyes were shadowed with lack of sleep. Severus did not have on a jumper, but at least he did not have on one of his full of holes, greyed and aged undershirts.

"You didn't need to. I have food, Lily," Severus replied, getting out of Lily's way as she entered, without him inviting her in.

He gave a nod to Vernon and muttered, "Dursley."

If Lily was coming in, he might as well let Dursley enter, rather than leaving him out in the garden.

Dursley moved ponderously so by the time he was in the door, and Severus could close it, Lily was sorting through his food. "Is this all you're eating, Sev?"

"It's fine." Severus did not know why Lily came over here to pick on him. He had enough to eat, and he didn't need to devour half a cow drowned in gravy to feel sated.

"You look horrible."

"I didn't invite you here, Lily, and you are going to wear out your welcome insulting me."

"I'm being serious, Sev. You don't look good. You shouldn't have listened to Petunia … um, sorry, Vernon."

"Hmm," Vernon replied trying to spot anything magical, or freakish as his Petunia called it. The lack of modern appliances reflected poverty or a dislike of modernly prepared food. The stove was antiquated so he leaned towards poorness. Not even an old refrigerator. "You live alone, Snape?"

"Now I do."

"Are you still seventeen?"

"Yes."

"Is this legal? I mean … you aren't eighteen yet." His mother-in-law had been throwing Snape's name into conversation among the family since his Petunia asked he remove himself. His father-in-law naturally came first, but his mother-in-law had a huge heart.

Severus looked confused. Muggles locked up orphans? What kind of dunderheaded law made it illegal to be an orphan prior to the age of eighteen? "They might think my mother is still alive."

He turned away and folded his arms over his chest. What if there was such a law? He could do magic to escape capture, and in a couple of weeks would be back at Hogwarts, where muggles could not find him. Unless there was cooperation. A letter, sent to the school might end up in Slughorn's hands, as his head of house. It may not be just prison till he turned eighteen, but a longer mandatory sentence. Not that it made sense, but some laws were not written to make sense. Muggle or wizard.

"Severus will be going back to school soon. He'll be eighteen next summer," Lily stated.

Lily stating facts was not assuring Severus. She had faith in government and the laws they passed because she thought common sense would stop them from doing acts that were made legal, yet were not necessary. Like casting crucio on the family members of suspects, including children and distant relatives that had not seen the suspect in years, to get any scrap of information. If crucio was cast on him, he'd become agreeable to answering what they wanted to get it to stop.

Their visit left Severus miserable. He did not want food from stranger's houses where he had to save containers so they could back to their rightful owners. Lily argued with occasional murmurs from Vernon.

He did not care what he looked like right now. He had been cleaning and had no intentions of going out or receiving visitors today. He did not care what Lily thought about what he ate. Severus ate when he was hungry, and he found nothing wrong with the food he had purchased. By the time Lily started asking questions about the changes in the kitchen, he asked her to leave, and take whatever she brought away with her. It was Lily who said the house had to be arranged for muggles to sell it.

After visiting the muggle library, Severus understood enough that muggle professionals needed to do the electricity bits and even though he understood pipes, the whole system would have to be hooked into the main water supply. Therefore, the clothes washing thing would need to get water in and drain out, and it would be convenient to have that below a lavatory upstairs, rather than running pipes all over. He also marked spaces for the refrigerator which needed electricity. If it was against that wall, the wire could also mean an electric socket on the other side for the parlor. Why did Lily feel the need to waltz in and pick at everything, like he was a scabby bit of rubbish?

On top of that, there was this threat of illegal muggle activity by living in this house after his parents died. His solicitor had said the paperwork transferred the title to him so it was Severus'd property. Although it was legally his house now, there was some barmy muggle law about being orphaned.