Marauders, Mirrors, and Magic

Bright sunlight pouring into his room woke Severus up early the following morning. The cat had vanished sometime during the night as cats are wont to do. He dressed quickly, noticing that his clothing had been laundered overnight. He didn't bother with the school robes, but left them folded on the chair. As he combed his hair, a house elf appeared behind him.

"Is young master wanting his breakfast?"

Severus yelped and spun around, startled. "What? Oh, breakfast sounds good. Who are you?"

"Skiffy, I is, young master. Skiffy has been told to take care of the young master."

"You don't have to keep calling me that. My name is Severus."

The elf shook his or her – he wasn't sure – head. "Skiffy is a good house elf. Skiffy does not call the masters by their names. If the young master will come with Skiffy, Skiffy will show him to the dining room."

Severus clattered after the house elf, urged on by the thought of food. "Skiffy, where's Professor Malfoy?"

"Master Malfoy is dressing, young master. He will be down for breakfast directly."

The dining room was where he remembered it from his childhood, but changed somewhat – a large room with four windows. These were currently open, creating a pleasant cross-draft. The furniture was different. The walls were paneled in a lighter shade of wood. The carpet was just as lush, but a fine forest green instead of the deep blue of the room he remembered. The furniture was less massive; more graceful. The over-all effect projected warmth and welcome. Severus sat down at the table to wait for Professor Malfoy.

As if the thought had summoned him, Lucius entered the room a moment later, the black cat – or one identical – winding around his ankles imperiously. "Good morning, cousin Severus."

"Er, good morning sir."

"You can call me Lucius so long as we're not at Hogwarts, Severus." He sent an appraising look at the boy as he seated himself. "Did you sleep well?"

Severus started a little. "Tolerably. I've been here before... memories, you know. But it's not the same exactly. Like this room." He described the differences.

"Interesting. The manor has been in the family for at least five generations." He looked up as three elves appeared carrying enough food to feed a small army. "Let's eat. We've a lot to do today." He leaned down to set a plate on the floor for the cat. "There, Thunder. Now let me have my breakfast in peace."

Severus helped himself tentatively to scrambled eggs and bacon, and for a few minutes there was only the sound of silverware scraping across plates. Then he asked, "Sir – Lucius – did you know Professor Black when you were in school?"

"Unfortunately, yes. He was an arrogant little wart then and still is sometimes. In my seventh year, he was a constant thorn in my side. Always getting into trouble with those friends of his." He smiled tightly. "I gave them more than one detention."

"Potter, Lupin, and Pettigrew," Severus growled. "I'd love to hex their balls off!"

"Dumbledore was Headmaster then. Tom – that is, Headmaster Riddle – wouldn't have tolerated half their shenanigans." Lucius studied the boy for a moment. "Listen to me, Severus. Whatever they did to you in your past did not happen here. You must remember that."

"I remember what they did well enough." He subsided. "You're right. It's just hard – they always get away with it." Only the oath he'd given Dumbledore stopped him from telling Lucius what had happened.

"They got away with far more than they should have, until they finally went too far." His face changed for a moment, revealing something glittering cold. "One of their pranks went wrong and got another student killed. That's what led to Dumbledore being removed as Headmaster and shuffled into a place where he can't hurt anyone." The coldness faded as quickly as it had appeared.

"What did they do?" Severus could hardly believe his ears. It sounded like his old nemeses had finally gotten their collective come-uppances. He wondered for half a moment if Lupin had killed the other him twenty-one years ago and then realized that Lucius would have likely remembered him if that were the case.

"It was during in their seventh year, so I wasn't directly involved. One of them – and only they know who actually did the deed – spiked the punch at the Hallowe'en Ball with a Love Potion. Unfortunately for them, another student was highly allergic to the potion and died as a result. They were expelled, and Dumbledore was held to be accountable. The school governors felt that had he clamped down on them much earlier, this never would've happened."

"So, if Black – Professor Black – was expelled, why is he teaching now? That doesn't make much sense."

"And that is exactly what I asked when Tom hired him, Severus. I'll answer you honestly, although it may be hard for you to understand. He did it to keep an eye on him. To make sure that history would not repeat itself. The others – well, Potter and Pettigrew are married and seem to have outgrown most of their foolishness. Their own sons are here at Hogwarts – both Gryffindors, of course."

"What about Lupin? What happened to him?" Severus was torn. On the one hand, he wanted to know where the werewolf was. On the other hand, as Lucius had pointed out, this Lupin wasn't the one that had nearly killed him. And – he thought suddenly – it was possible that Lupin wasn't a werewolf in this now.

"Gone. Vanished somewhere into the night. No one's seen him since the day he was expelled. The Ministry tried to track him down with no luck. All they ever found was his snapped wand. Most people think he's dead by now." Lucius shoveled another helping of bacon and eggs onto Severus' plate. "Enough of that unpleasant talk. You need to put on some weight."

The boy picked up his fork again. "What are we going to do today?" His parents would have been horrified at the idea of him asking for seconds at meals.

"After we eat, you are going to get measured for new clothes. After that – we should have some free time. Is there anything you'd like to do?"

"Read." He caught the amused look Lucius gave him. "I really need to start learning how things are here – maybe it'll help."

The amusement vanished. "You're quite right. We'll spend a couple of hours on that then. But I have no intention of keeping you at your books all summer. You need exercise as well. Do you play Quidditch?"

"I'm not very good at it. I like to fly, but Quidditch..." He shook his head.

"Quidditch is dominated by overgrown jocks." Lucius finished for him. "Let me introduce you to my sport of choice."

"What's that?"

"Skydancing."

~*~

The wizard who measured Severus for his new clothes was a short dark man introduced as Mr. Brown. He seemed cheerful enough, for he kept up a non-stop patter interspersed with instructions, while his enchanted tape measure roamed all over Severus, much as Ollivander's had done when he got his wand. "Hold your arms out thusly, young sir. Thank you. Now, as I was saying – shocking what prices of schoolbooks are like these days. I have three at Hogwarts. Two Slytherins and a Ravenclaw. Thank you, you can put your arms down now. You're going to be in Slytherin? You'll meet Lilac and Lavender then. Jasmine is my Ravenclaw. Please put one foot up on this stool..."

Lucius caught Severus' eye and winked. He'd obviously heard this all before.

Mr. Brown captured his tape measure and returned it to his satchel. "All done with measurements. Now fabrics!" He waved his wand, and the air was filled with a veritable rainbow of pieces of cloth wafting around. "Color?"

Lucius shrugged. "It's your choice, cousin Severus. You have to wear them. I'd recommend choosing colors that complement each other."

"I like darker colors," Severus began. "Forest green... dark blue... grey... black. No reds or yellows."

"Good, good. Reds and yellows would not suit you at all. Let's see here." He waved his wand again, and his red and yellow samples disappeared, as did the lighter blues and greens. "Pick the ones you like, young man."

Severus hesitated. His parents had bitterly complained about the cost every time they'd had to buy new clothes for him. This was something he and Lucius had not discussed. He looked at the samples, wishing they were marked with prices. He picked out a deep green piece of heavy wool. "I like this one."

"Excuse us a moment, Mr. Brown." Lucius waved the tailor out into the hall. "What's the matter, Severus?"

Severus shook his head, staring at the floor. "This – it's got to be costing you a fortune! I'll never be able to pay you back!"

"Tchah! Listen to me, my young friend," he tilted Severus' head up so their eyes met. "I am well able to afford this; I am a very, very wealthy man. I have no family to support."

"I can't accept it, sir. It's too much."

Lucius thought for a moment. The boy had his pride. "A bargain then – we will call this a loan, which you agree to pay back as you can, when you can. While you are in school I will deduct one galleon from the amount owed for each point you earn for your House." He lifted an eyebrow. "Does this satisfy?"

Severus considered. "Accepted!" They shook hands, and Lucius called the tailor back in.

Three hours later, Mr. Brown had gone and Severus collapsed into a chair. "Merlin's teeth, Lucius! I didn't know there was so much to getting clothes!"

"If you want quality, you pay for it. Mr. Brown does excellent work."

"I've never had anything so fine before. Thank you again."

"It's my pleasure."

A relatively tall house-elf popped into the room. "Will Master Malfoy and the young master be wanting their luncheon?"

"Yes, Blitz. Coldcuts with bread and fruit." He caught Severus' eye and grinned. "I promised to show you Skydancing, and I can't do that after a heavy meal."

"So what is Skydancing?" he asked as they walked into the dining room. "I've never heard of it."

"In its simplest form," Lucius replied as he seated himself, "it's riding a broom while standing upright on it. It takes an excellent sense of balance."

Severus sat down. "I can imagine. I've done it a little bit, but only for short level flights."

"That's how you begin with it. Skydancers use different brooms. They're built more for stable and smooth flight, not for speed and maneuverability. Also," he began building himself a sandwich from the coldcuts the elves had brought, "the staves are thicker to provide slightly better traction and they don't have the Cushioning charms that riding brooms have."

"You said that was the simplest form. What other forms are there?"

"In one variant, there are two or three brooms spelled to fly in synch with each other. The skydancer jumps from broom to broom. The greater the dancer's skill, the farther apart the brooms are, and the faster they go. In another variation, there are multiple brooms at different heights, and the challenge is to switch between them. And in all of these, the dancers do stunts – they balance on their hands or turn flips in mid-air, or whatever else they wish to try."

"That sounds amazing! Back – where I come from, the only sport is Quidditch."

"You won't find skydancers at Hogwarts, cousin." Lucius gave him a grin. "But there is a professional troupe in London, and I will get tickets for their next performance. Finish your sandwich and we'll go outside and fly."

~*~

Severus brought his broom down into a smooth descent and landed gracefully. "That is fun!" He'd had no trouble staying balanced on straight level flights. Then Lucius had shown him how to change directions and how finally how to land. Severus was convinced that Lucius was an excellent teacher. He was sparing with his praise, but that made it all the sweeter. Now tired and a little muddy – both had taken some falls – they returned to the manor to clean up.

"Take a hot bath, cousin," Lucius said, as they came to his room. "As hot as you can stand it. Your muscles will thank you for it later."

Severus nodded. "What are we going to do till dinner?"

"I think it's time to start figuring out the differences between your time and now. I'll meet you in the library in an hour."

A number of parcels had appeared on his bed while they were outside. He picked one up at random, and looked at the neatly printed label. "Master Severus Snape, Third floor front suite, Malfoy Manor. Hmm." He unwrapped it slowly, exposing two new shirts, one dark blue, one a deep grey. A card from Bourke & Brown Fine Apparel was tucked into the package also. Severus grinned and reached for another parcel. Now he wouldn't have to appear in the library in his muddy clothes. A few minutes later, he was soaking comfortably in hot water.

"I could get used to this," he said out loud.

"Get used to what, young man?"

Severus yelped and scrabbled for his wand. "Wha? Who are you? Where are you?"

The voice chuckled. "I'm Romalg... I'm the mirror. You're the first person to occupy these rooms in a long time."

Severus turned around to look at the full-length mirror on the wall. "I've never met a mirror that could talk other than to tell me my hair wasn't combed."

Romalg chuckled again. "Young mirrors, then. The older a mirror is the more power it attains. My frame was carved in 1773, my glass was silvered in 1775."

"Have you always hung here?"

"As far back as I can remember, yes. This suite is traditionally for the eldest son of the house." The mirror paused for a moment. "You don't have much of the Malfoy look about you."

"I don't suppose I do." He climbed out of the tub and dried himself off. "Did Lucius have these rooms when he was younger?"

"Yes, indeed. As did Aloysius before him and Simeon before him, and so on."

"I know that portraits can talk to each other. Can mirrors?"

"Only if we're in the same room, or our frames were carved from the same wood. There are exactly seven mirrors in my family tree." Romalg chuckled at its pun.

Severus winced at the bad joke. "Where are your other... umm... siblings?" He reached for one of his new shirts and slid the soft linen over his shoulders.

"Two others are here at Malfoy Manor – one in the master bath, one in the blue guest room on the first floor. One is at Hogwarts in the prefects' bath. One hangs behind the bar of the Leaky Cauldron. One is in the second floor ladies' lounge at the Ministry of Magic. The last is languishing in a junk shop in Diagon Alley, leaning up against a wall behind other unfortunates."

Severus began combing his hair. "What was Lucius like when he was younger?"

"Much like you are now, I think." Romalg replied. "Intelligent. Lonely much of the time. He did not have any real friends until after he left school."

"I don't make friends easily either." Severus looked up at the mirror. "I've enjoyed talking with you. I've got to go to the library now, but I'll be back later."

Outside his door, he paused getting his bearings, and then set off down the hall toward the stairs. "First floor main hallway, and it's either the second or third door on the left. I have got to get Lucius to show me around some more!"

He made it to the library and stopped dead in his tracks. The room was larger than he remembered, and it was filled with bookshelves, all loaded with books. Near the door were two large upholstered chairs with matching footstools, and between the two chairs was a low table with five or six books stacked on it. Lucius was comfortably ensconced in one of the chairs, leafing through a book, his black cat curled up next to him.

Severus slowly entered the room, feeling a little gobsmacked. Only the library at Hogwarts could compare to this. Lucius looked up and grinned. "Sit down, cousin. I've selected some books for us to start with."

He took the other chair and looked at the books on the table. "This one," he picked up Marston's Genealogy of Wizards, "looks like a good place to start. What have you got?"

Lucius held the book so he could read the title: Hogwarts Alumni 1960-1980. "I thought it might be interesting to see if there were any Snapes at Hogwarts around the time I was there. I don't recall any, but wanted to check on the years before and after. I'll work backwards from there."

They settled to their reading.