Chapter Four: Through the Looking-Glass

Chapter Four: Through the Looking-Glass

Friday, 28 August 1998

Rather than Disapparating from the corner of the reception area intended for such departures, Gareth had suggested they find a spot behind the ancient stone building, out of the view of both Muggles and wizards. Severus wasn't unhappy with that suggestion, since he disliked having anyone seeing him being Side-Alonged like some invalid. As soon as they arrived in the small park near the Egidius Apothecary, Gareth dropped his hand from Severus's arm.

"It's only a little after three," Gareth pointed out as they walked down the park path toward the apothecary. "We have time for a quick cup of coffee after we drop off the prescription, if you like. Both the Cailleachan Café and Aphrodite's Apple have good coffee...or tea, if you prefer."

Was the younger wizard trying to avoid having dinner with him that evening? Substituting a quick coffee in McTavish Street for dinner in Furculum Way? Perhaps he'd had a better offer since they'd seen each other on Tuesday.

"Perhaps. But you needn't feel obligated, McGonagall. Or to stick around for dinner. I don't know how long I'll be at Malfoy's. I can Floo to the Wand and Staff on my own."

"Aren't in the mood to go out for dinner, Severus?" Gareth asked, pausing at the end of the path. "That's fine, though I'd been looking forward to it. But I understand if you're not feeling up to it. I'll still give you a Side-Along to the top of Furculum Way and wait and give you a lift back to Hogwarts, if you like. It's a long walk from the Three Broomsticks to the castle at the end of a tiring day."

Severus twitched one shoulder noncommittally. He stepped onto the pavement and strode toward the apothecary. If he didn't want McGonagall's company now, he had a good excuse to decline it. Somehow, though, the prospect of going to Leeds alone and then Flooing alone back to Hogsmeade after meeting with Malfoy seemed worse than having McGonagall tagging along.

"We'll see. I need to speak with McGonagall...Murdoch...about the potion, anyway."

"Want me to wait in the café?"

"No need, unless our conversation goes long, then you're free to leave as you wish," Severus replied.

"Mm, I can poke around the shop if I become bored," Gareth replied.

Severus didn't respond, simply pushing open the shiny green door and entering the cool apothecary. He could hear a sweet, mellow chime coming from above, and immediately following the bell, hurried light footsteps came from the backroom of the shop.

A young blonde witch in an apprentice's cap stopped behind the counter, momentarily startled, then she asked, "May I help you, Professor?"

"I will speak with your master, Miss Turpin," Severus replied stiffly.

Gareth grinned at her, recognising her from the battle and the awards dinner. "Good afternoon, Miss Turpin! Just let Murdoch know that his nephew Gareth is here with Professor Snape. It is good to see you again, and under much more congenial circumstances!"

Lisa smiled and blushed, surprised the wizard had remembered her. "I'll fetch him for you at once, Professor. I believe he is free now." She may have been addressing Severus, but her eyes were on Gareth.

After she had disappeared into the depths of the apothecary's workrooms, Severus looked around him. He hadn't been here in more than a year, and not since it had been rebuilt. The apothecary was pleasingly arranged and well-lit, both from the large windows at the front and one side of the building and from Charmed daylight globes that hung at intervals from the high ceiling. He wandered among the shelves, coming to one area that was less well-lit and kept artificially darker than the rest of the shop. He nodded with approval. Not only were these light-sensitive ingredients and potions kept in a darker part of the shop, but they were in Charmed glass-front cabinets, and Severus was certain that the glass had been charmed so that the ingredients were visible from the outside but the light did not seep through to the ingredients. The jars, crocks, vials, and bottles were all opaque, as well.

A pleasantly throaty woman's voice reached his ear.

"Gareth! You should have let me know you were coming! I would have prepared tea for you and Professor Snape."

"Hi, Estelle," Gareth replied. "We didn't know we were going to be coming. We also have other errands. Is Uncle Murdoch on his way?"

"Yes, he said it'd be just another minute or two. He was at a vital stage and didn't want to relinquish his stirring rod to me at that point," the witch replied, a smile in her voice.

Severus stepped around the corner toward the centre of the shop where Gareth and Estelle were standing near large baskets and urns of bulk potions ingredients. Estelle turned toward him.

"Professor Snape, so good to actually meet you," she said, her hand extended. "I'm Estelle McGonagall."

"Madam McGonagall," Severus said with a nod, shaking her hand briefly.

"It is you we have to thank for the survival of the Egidius Apothecary," she continued, "and I'm glad to have the opportunity to thank you myself."

Severus nodded again. "I understand that it was not without cost to you both, however."

She shrugged. "A few bruises, some minor burns. We were both fine. And the apothecary needed renovation, anyway." She smiled broadly. "I'd been after Murdoch for some time to modernise things. Turns out it was for the best that we didn't do it any earlier, but now we have things we'd only dreamed of on paper before."

A heavy but lively tread approached them from the backrooms, and seconds later, Murdoch emerged, pulling off a leather apron as he stepped out into the shop.

"Professor Snape," he said, acknowledging Severus first, "I had a Floo conversation with Melina and she said you'd be coming, but I didn't expect you so soon. She said you'd have a prescription with you?" As Severus handed him the sealed envelope, Murdoch smiled at his nephew. "Good to see you, too. Didn't know you'd be along."

Gareth gave a crooked grin. "We have a few errands today, then we thought we'd grab a bite somewhere."

Murdoch had unsealed the envelope and was perusing the long parchment he'd pulled from it. He nodded. "It will take a while to brew this . . . Estelle, why don't you call Turpin back out here and have her do something useful in the shop whilst I show Professor Snape the new laboratories and work areas? If, of course, you have a few minutes," he added, turning to Severus.

"Only a few," Severus said, although he was interested in seeing the older Potions master's new labs. "I have an appointment soon."

Gareth said he would prefer to pass on the tour, since he'd seen the new workrooms before, but Severus followed Murdoch into the apothecary's backrooms. They were, indeed, impressive, and Murdoch pointed out the improvements they'd made when they rebuilt the apothecary that summer, having staged an accident just days before the attack on Hogwarts. By blowing up their own apothecary, he and Estelle had been able to save most of the shop's stock and the stores of potions ingredients, as well as escaping any serious injury themselves. Their apprentice, Lawrence Shelby, had been staying the weekend with his parents, so he had been entirely unhurt. Their own injuries had been deliberate, in order not to make the explosion appear to be anything other than an accident.

"The last time we had any extensive damage to the shop was an accident back in forty, and my wife was killed and our apprentice severely injured, so at the time, neither I nor Uncle Perrin were in any mood to think about improvements we might be able to make to the facilities," Murdoch explained. "I'd made improvements here and there over time, of course, but nothing as thorough-going as this."

Severus felt awkward and just nodded. The two wizards discussed some of the various changes and improvements Murdoch had made, the different work surfaces, the various modern Charmed cupboards for storing ingredients, and even separate laboratories kept at different environmental conditions for the preparation of ingredients or the brewing of potions.

"Now that we have three rooms with easily set environmental charms and not just the one charm-controlled lab as we had before," Murdoch said, "we'll be much more productive and efficient. Before, we had one of these labs and two basic workrooms where we'd cast limited charms on the area around the workbench if we needed them. I feel positively spoiled now."

"They are impressive. Certainly on a par with the Potions laboratories in St. Mungo's, and I doubt there's another apothecary in Britain that is more well-equipped," Severus said.

"It's got nothing on the apothecary I visited in Tokyo several years ago, but for this corner of the world, it's not bad," Murdoch said. "The one room that's more or less the same is the apprentices' workroom. It's still in the back of the stone cellar and looks almost identical to mine when I was an apprentice here back in the thirties," Murdoch said. "Of course, once an apprentice begins to brew any of the more complex potions or ones that I will stock in the shop, they usually do the work in the main apothecary workrooms."

Severus nodded. "I was unaware that Miss Turpin was your new apprentice."

"I know that it's usual to ask for a reference from you, but I knew what you'd gone through. I didn't want you to have to bother with it. I accepted her conditionally on her performance on her NEWTs and her work in the revisions sessions I held at Hogwarts. Minerva had made her records available to me. She's only been here a week, but I think she will do well."

"NEWTs results aren't out yet," Severus said, slightly puzzled.

Murdoch grinned. "I sat in on the practical portion, then got Slughorn and Birch to let me read her essays. Not precisely standard practice, but we didn't want to wait until November to start the apprenticeship...and I wanted to be able to begin looking for another candidate immediately if she weren't suitable. Theodore Nott had actually applied, as well, but that was before the . . . before everything."

Severus swallowed and looked away toward the neatly arranged potions ingredients laid out on the slate-top table. Nott could have had such a promising life, and he had had to throw it all away, joining Goyle in killing Sinistra. He must be in one of those "facilities" which Gareth had spoken of.

"I have an actual office now, too," Murdoch said, opening the door at the back of the workroom they were in. "Always used to have paperwork and such scattered about between here and my study in the flat. Drove Estelle and Quimpy crazy, even if I knew where everything was." He set the prescription down on his desk. "I'll get started on your potion as soon as you leave, Severus, but it will take some time to brew. It should be ready tomorrow evening. I'll send it to you, or bring it myself, as soon as it's ready."

Severus nodded, looking at the envelope. "May I see it?"

"Of course." Murdoch handed it to him.

As Severus expected, the first section seemed less a prescription than a description of the potion, what it was to achieve and what ingredients Melina expected Murdoch to use in it, but then it was followed by what appeared to be a potions formula, but with directions containing symbols that he didn't recognise and with several points at which he would have expected at least an indication of what should be done next, but where Melina had only slashed a solitary solidus, the usual potioner's symbol for "proceed as usual." Since this was not a usual potion belonging to a particular class of potions, Severus could not see how there could be an "as usual."

He looked up at Murdoch. "I presume you can brew this."

Murdoch twitched a smile. "Yes. It is a variation on the one that we created before you were bitten, and similar to one that I brewed for you as you were recovering. It probably didn't make terribly great sense to you, even as an experienced Potions master. It's written in a combination of St. Gile's conventional prescription symbols...which are almost identical to those of St. Mungo's, if you're familiar with them...and those of the Egidius Apothecary. With, of course, a dash of McGonagall idiosyncrasy," he added with a slight grin. "At some stages of brewing, she's leaving it to my judgement as Potions master how to proceed, of course, since it's not a standard potion. I hope that you will trust that judgement, as well, Severus."

"Of course." Not that he had any choice in the matter. And it did seem that father and daughter had managed the other experimental potions well enough. He glanced at the century clock on the shelf beside the desk. Past three-thirty already. "Thank you for the tour. It is quite impressive."

"I'm always happy to show it off to another Potions master. Stop by any time...and if you ever would like to do a little brewing in one of our environmentally controlled labs, just drop me an owl. I'm sure you can do whatever you need to at Hogwarts using temporary charms, but sometimes it's nice to have the room doing that work for you."

As Severus followed Murdoch back into the shop, he heard a giggle. McGonagall was leaning casually against a wall, one hand resting on the corner of the wall just above his head, smiling down at a blushing Lisa Turpin, his eyes sparkling. Turpin still had her apprentice's cap on, but sometime between fetching Murdoch and returning to the shop, she had let her hair down from where it had been pinned up under the dark red, brimless cap. Severus was disgusted; Turpin was usually quite the sensible Ravenclaw, not given to fits of giggling or foolish female vanity. It looked as though she had even applied a make-up charm of some sort to her lips. So much for Estelle setting the apprentice to some useful task. The Potions mistress was behind the counter, totting up an inventory.

"Coming, McGonagall?" If he didn't come, he could Floo from Aphrodite's Apple to the Wand and Staff and then walk.

Gareth immediately straightened up, winking at Lisa and telling her that he was sure he'd see her again soon. The apprentice actually giggled again. Severus's lip lifted in distaste. He turned toward Estelle.

"Pleasure to meet you, Madam McGonagall. Thank you again for the tour, Murdoch," Severus said, determined to be the perfect image of courtesy despite his companion's ill manners. At least he was their relative, and not his.

As soon as they were out the door and onto the pavement, Severus said, not looking at Gareth, "Do you have to chat up every eligible witch you come across, McGonagall? The girl's an apprentice, for Merlin's sake."

"But not mine," Gareth said lightly. "And it was just one witch, not the entire universe of witches. Just a bit of harmless flirting, Snape, that's all."

"You distracted her from her work."

"Hardly," Gareth replied. "Estelle told her to help any customers who came in, and there weren't any." The two wizards entered the park and Gareth stopped. "It really bothers you, doesn't it?" he asked, puzzled.

"It was unbecoming behaviour," Severus replied stiffly.

"I doubt that was it, Snape."

"I believed you had more sense, and Turpin, too."

"More sense than to take the opportunity for a little fun? I'd say you need to lighten up, but that would be pointless. We were just chatting, Snape. We weren't planning some sordid assignation or something."

"Hmph. Sure you don't want to stay and 'chat' with her, McGonagall?"

Gareth took in a breath, held it a moment, then let it out. "If we weren't in public," he said in a low voice, "I would tell you precisely how I feel about your asinine insinuations. Let's just Apparate to Leeds, and for the moment, I'll try to ignore the fact that you're behaving like the hindquarters of a cantankerous Jarvey. I'll put it down to those toxins in your blood." He took Severus's elbow. "Ready?" When Severus nodded curtly, Gareth Disapparated them with a sharp crack.

Severus looked around. They were standing beside a wall of dark brick. Furculum Way was below them to their left, and a narrow alley led off to their right. Stepping out from the shadow of the wall, he could see now that it belonged to a large building that extended to both sides of the high street, perhaps some kind of warehouse; an arched passageway extending over the street connected the two halves of the large building and allowed Furculum Way, narrowed at that point, to pass through it, presumably ending at Coopers Lane.

The high street led its crooked way down a steep hill, narrow wizarding streets crossing it every so often, and Severus could just make out a large sign jutting into the road from a building near the foot of the hill, the golden staff of the Wand and Staff clearly visible on it even from that distance.

"Have your bearings now, Snape?" Gareth asked.

Severus nodded.

"Why don't we meet in the pub at half past six," Gareth suggested. "If you're later than that, I can have a pint and wait for you. If you're earlier, I'll likely be in the Lucky Goose, which is a stationer's a couple shops from the pub, or in the Dusty Tome, a used book shop about halfway down the hill on the right-hand side. Or you can go on ahead to the pub. You haven't had any of your potion yet. You could have a pint, if you like."

Severus grunted slightly in response. He rarely drank. It had not been a wise thing to do when he had been a spy, and even aside from that, between his desire to remain in control of himself and his memories of his father's drinking, alcohol hadn't ever held much appeal for him.

"You want me to take your bag for you?" Gareth asked. "I'll be careful not to mislay it or anything."

Severus handed him the brown paper bag. Better not to show up at Malfoy's carrying it. He wondered how he would manage not using any magic in his presence. Hopefully, such an occasion simply wouldn't arise.

"Six-thirty is a bit late," Severus said. "It's only four now. I hope not to be longer than an hour with him, at most."

"Six, then, and I will probably be spending most of my time in the Dusty Tome," Gareth replied. He hesitated. "You know, Snape, I can imagine that if I had been to the Healer today and had received news like you did, I might not be up for socialising, so if you change your mind, I will understand, but on the other hand, if you feel like talking about it, I wouldn't mind listening. And if not, then you might just like to get your mind off of it for a little while, have a nice supper, talk about other things."

Severus nodded. Somehow this time, Gareth's words didn't make him wonder whether the other wizard would prefer to be off doing something else with someone else who was more congenial company. Gareth still put up with him, strange as that seemed to Severus.

As Gareth headed down the hill, Severus passed beneath the archway that led to Muggle Leeds. Despite the fact that there were a few other witches and wizards also walking through the passage, either coming or going, it felt desolate, almost eerie. Trying to place why that should be, Severus became aware that his footfalls on the cobblestone were deadened, almost soundless, and although he could feel the damp in the air and see a rivulet of water running along a narrow channel into a drain, he couldn't hear any of the sounds he would have expected to hear in such a place. It seemed that charms had been laid upon the tunnel-like alley, among them, ones that would dampen any sounds. There were no doubt also charms that would distract Muggles from noticing the passage's existence, perhaps making it invisible or appear to be an unbroken part of the building that surrounded it.

As he approached the Muggle street, he felt a shimmer of wards as he passed through some unseen boundary, and the sounds of traffic reached his ears and the daylight beyond seemed brighter. Just before he reached the Muggle pavement, there was a grey-painted steel door to his left that had "Maintenance – Fire Control" stencilled on it. To his right, a glass door led into a Muggle newsstand. Through the door, he could see the crowded shelves and counters of the shop, and could look right through the windows that faced Coopers Lane. Automatically reading the backwards lettering on the large windows, Severus saw that this was Westerbrook's Newsstand, and it carried "newspapers ~ magazines ~ sweets ~ postcards ~ tobacco," and large swirling red letters beneath it all declared Westerbrook's to be a vendor for Coca-Cola, as well.

Severus looked behind him. The passageway was still obviously there to him, though it seemed foggy and indistinct from this side. He imagined that if he were a Muggle, he'd likely see nothing but a brick wall, perhaps a few trash bins, and immediately lose interest in anything other than the newsstand.

Coopers Lane ran along the crest of the hill, at only a slight grade for the few blocks that Severus had to walk. He found number two twenty-two quite easily. As Lucius had said, he could feel the tingle of the wards around it before he reached the house.

He stood at the bottom of the steps and looked up at the new home of Lucius Malfoy. From the outside, it looked no different from any of the other row houses on the street. There was a bay window to the right of the door, and two more on the first and second floors, and only two other small windows were visible from the street, one over the other above the door, perhaps to provide a little natural light in a stairway. But, despite its three stories, it was clearly a very small house. There appeared to be a basement flat, as well, with an entrance below the stairs to the main house.

Nothing for it but to go up and ring or knock, Severus thought with an internal sigh.

At the top of the stairs, Severus saw a plain brass knocker in the centre of the door and a small black button set into the doorframe. Out of curiosity, he pushed the button. A shrill buzzing sounded somewhere behind the closed door. A few moments later, Severus heard a shuffling sound, then the door opened.

If he had not known that he was calling on Lucius Malfoy, Severus would not have recognised the man who answered the door. Though not the bag of bones he had become by the Battle of Hogwarts, Malfoy was still gaunt: thin, parchment-like skin drawn tightly over prominent cheekbones, the once aristocratic nose now looking more like a narrow beak, the formerly sharp and commanding eyes now dark, shadowed sockets, and the previously thin but still sensuous lips, reduced to merely a dry, pale outline of his mouth. His long, fine, straw-blond hair had been cut short at some point, or it had fallen out, and he hadn't grown it back yet; his receding hairline led to short white tufts, and sparse sideburns led to a poorly shaven jaw. Rather than holding the aristocratic silver-topped black walking stick as he used to, Malfoy now leaned upon an ordinary aluminium cane with a grey rubber foot, the sort that any Muggle might use. He wore dark grey trousers, a white shirt open at the collar, and a loose, calf-length, unbuttoned light-weight grey robe over it all.

Long years as a Death Eater spy spared Severus's face from betraying any reaction, but internally, whatever he had expected, it was not the sight that met him, and he was stunned.

The man at the door nodded and made an attempt to smile in greeting. "Severus. Thank you for coming." He stepped back to allow Severus to enter.

"Malfoy." Severus nodded.

Lucius closed the door, then turned to his visitor. "I am afraid I must ask you to place your wand in that basket for a moment," he said quietly but matter-of-factly. At Severus's slightly raised eyebrow, he explained, "It is one way they track my visitors and what magic might be used on the premises."

Severus drew his wand from his inner jacket pocket and placed it in the basket that Lucius had indicated. The basket glowed for a moment, and then there was a little click.

Lucius nodded. "You can take it now."

Severus pocketed his wand.

"If you'll come through here," Lucius said, indicating the door to the right of the small entry hall, "we can speak comfortably."

Severus opened the door and stepped into what could have been a typical Muggle living room in a house anywhere on the street. Other than the sofa and the small Queen Anne desk, he recognised nothing from Malfoy's previous home. It could be that the Dark Lord had despoiled it all, but Severus found that unlikely. Then he caught sight of the cords leading from the lamps to the wall sockets. Curious. And the telephone on a stand beside one of the armchairs, even more so.

"Please, have a seat. Make yourself comfortable," Malfoy invited him.

Severus sat in the armchair beside the telephone, and Lucius sat in one across from him, resting his cane against the arm of the chair. Severus could now see a dark blue ring encircling the other wizard's ankle, his trouser leg tucked into it. Hardly a fashion statement, but Severus was at a loss to know what it was for.

Lucius saw Severus's gaze fall on the anklet, and he gave a crooked smile. "You have noticed my new adornment. It is a Charmed anklet, another of our newly enlightened Ministry's innovations. Among other things, they know where I am at all times with this. I can't remove it without numerous unpleasant consequences. It's hardly pretty, however it is more comfortable with the trousers in between it and my ankle; since it doesn't affect its functioning, the Ministry doesn't care how I wear it as long as I do. I also can't step beyond the doorstep without having the MLE descend upon me, except for prearranged outings, such as the one this morning to Mungo's."

Severus nodded his understanding. "And this house? They provide it?"

"One could say that, though the money for it comes from the rent the Ministry is paying me for the manor."

"Rent for the manor?" This last bit of information was finally too much for Severus, and his face showed it.

"You haven't heard?" Lucius asked. "The former home to generations of Malfoys is now a prison. They don't call it that, naturally. It is a 'minimum security facility for the rehabilitation of low-risk transgressors.' Whether there or here, I would be a prisoner in my home. Better to be here."

"No, I hadn't heard. I didn't take the Prophet during the summer," Severus replied.

"I also pay restitution from the rent the Ministry is paying for use of the manor. In two thousand eighteen, they will have the option to purchase it for a nominal sum, or I may reclaim it at that time. During the intervening period, they lease it and I pay my bills from the proceeds. In the end, I obtain a small monthly allowance from it, sufficient for my current needs."

"But your other holdings, your Gringotts accounts..."

"What wasn't taken by our former master . . . what he did not use, what very little was left, they allowed me to sign over to Draco to avoid having it become part of my restitution payments. There are no more Gringotts accounts."

"Narcissa's money, from her side of the family," Severus said questioningly.

"Gone. Most of it spent bribing the Ministry the first time they wanted to send me to Azkaban. I had always planned to restore it someday . . ." He let out a harsh sound, possibly a laugh. "Now I haven't even a legacy to leave my son, nothing but a disgraced name."

"The restitution will not be indefinite, surely."

"No, not indefinite, but when it's finished . . . the manor will belong to the Ministry, and I will have paid my restitution. I may sound bitter, but I am not. The Ministry did give me options. I should say more properly, the Ministry gave me options and the Wizengamot approved my choice. I could have spent the next thirty years of my life in prison...thirty years, minimum, possibly with a reduction in the sentence at some point if I was 'well-behaved.' If I were lucky, I would have placed in a minimum security facility, and likely in some . . . prison infirmary for the first few months. But eventually, I would have been sent to one of those 'facilities,' and I would be given work to do and Merlin knows what else. Malfoy manor would have remained ours, but with no Galleons to keep it up and no house-elves left, Draco and Narcissa would have found it impossible to maintain. There were a couple other possible options presented to me. This seemed the most expedient course to take. I am not allowed to carry a wand or to use any magic outside of my magical rehabilitation at St. Mungo's, or even to use any Charmed objects other than those on a very short list approved by the Ministry, but I find myself not caring much. My health is such that I am unable to do very much more than sit and read, anyway. We do have a back garden that I am allowed to use. That has been pleasant." The wizard sighed. "I do regret it for Narcissa. She never had very much to do with my business, any of it, though she was . . . she was always there when I came home." He swallowed, his prominent Adam's apple bobbing. "But we are happy enough here. Narcissa is glad to be back in England, I believe."

"Where is she now?" Severus asked curiously, wondering whether Malfoy's wife had undergone a similar change as her husband...although living in Sweden under the protection of the Order had saved her from the wrath of the Dark Lord.

Malfoy's eyes seemed to deaden further, and his pale face became more pinched. Barely moving his lips, he said, "She is at work. I expect her home shortly after five o'clock."

Work? A Malfoy working at an ordinary job? "She has obtained employment?" Severus asked, phrasing his question as politely as possible.

Malfoy nodded. "It supplements our income, and she prefers to be occupied. Twilfitt and Tatting's has a shop in Furculum Way. She preferred that to their London location. More convenient."

Severus also assumed that Narcissa did not relish the prospect of seeing her former friends and acquaintances in Diagon Alley. She would still see some who knew her, but fewer, and as Furculum Way was not considered as upscale as Diagon Alley, those whom she did see would likely not include those who had once been a part of her "set"...if any of that set were still alive and free. Severus felt for a moment as though he'd stepped through Lewis Carroll's looking glass and had found himself in a world in which everything was turned upside-down. It had only begun with the on-going peculiarity of his own survival and then spread out from there.

He had been attacked by the Dark Lord and his familiar, Nagini, and had survived. Sinistra, good Slytherin and admirable witch that she was, had been leading her students to safety within Hogwarts walls, and she had been killed by a couple teenage wizards in her care. He had cold-heartedly maimed a witch, and now, years later, her son called him "friend" and was meeting him for dinner. He, the half-blood son of a drunken Muggle and a weak witch, was Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Lucius Malfoy, a pureblood born into wealth and privilege, was living in a small Muggle house, surrounded by electric lamps, and Narcissa Black Malfoy was a shop assistant. Somehow, the only normal thing in his life seemed to be the news that he still had Dark toxins in his blood, and that they were multiplying and destroying his magic. That seemed real; all else, strangely unreal.

Next

Chapter Five: An Alternative Treatment

Friday, 28 August 1998

Severus learns why Lucius wished to see him, then he takes his leave of Lucius and Narcissa.

Author's Note: If you're enjoying the story, I'd love to hear from you!