Finagling

Disclaimer: All recognisable Harry Potter characters, settings, situations etc. are the property of J.K. Rowling. No money is being made from this work, and no copyright infringement is intended.

A cold wave of adrenaline surged through Severus as something hit him between the eyes. The object hitting him was soft, with a certain bounce, but it still made him grab for the wand only to discover that it wasn't where he had placed it the evening before. He threw himself out of bed, landing on his hands and knees, looking for the wand. His stomach churned with horror as he realised that the wand wasn't on the floor either ...

And then he remembered where he was: Hogwarts, in the Slytherin dormitory. He rose from the floor and turned.

"Sorry about that. Breakfast is served soon and timetables are up," said Malfoy with a smirk. He held up Severus's wand and then threw it back to him. Severus caught it, feeling unnerved and deflated. He had lost his wand twice in four days.

"Always get the wand first," Malfoy said.

Severus grumbled. He was tempted to hex Malfoy, but his brain felt sluggish and his muscles weak. A pair of rolled-up green socks lay on the floor beside the bed. He picked them up and put them on. Malfoy probably had enough of them, and he owed him for the fright he had given him.

"Where is everyone?" Severus said, his voice gravelly and raw.

"They've already gone down. Eager to get some breakfast, I think." Malfoy shrugged and fell quiet.

They dressed in silence. Malfoy seemed preoccupied, and Severus, never having been a morning person, was satisfied not having to talk.

Waiting for Malfoy turned out to be a frustrating experience, however. Malfoy took a long time to get dressed, and as they left for the Great Hall, he was dragging his feet, which annoyed Severus no end.

On the verge of delivering a cutting remark, Severus looked at Malfoy only to realise that he looked apprehensive. Scared, even. Malfoy's posture reminded Severus – in a very unpleasant way – of Lucius during the last days at Malfoy Manor.

Weak.

Defeated.

Frightened stiff.

"May I ask you something?" Severus found himself asking.

"Yes, of course."

"Why did you return to Hogwarts? I imagine the Malfoy name – even in the current situation – would get you a low-level job at Gringott's? Your family's fortune alone should suffice."

"Your father seems to have told you a lot about us."

"Of course he did, but that's beside the point. I wouldn't have returned. Why did you? Your father made you?"

Malfoy hesitated, and for the first time Severus noticed that he looked resigned, tired and much older than his years.

"No. He said I didn't have to. Mother wanted me to go. What mother wants and all that."

Narcissa's doing then. Not surprising when Severus thought of it.

"She said that no son of hers was going to ruin his life on account of some unpleasantness," Malfoy said and gave Severus a wry smile.

"Interesting turn of phrase." Severus couldn't help smirking. Looking as fragile as a Ghost Orchid, Narcissa had the soul of a Dandelion: able to break through concrete if it was necessary for survival.

"She's right about one thing: it certainly was unpleasant." Malfoy said, interrupting Severus's thoughts.

"Did she give you any advice before sending you into the lions' den?"

"I don't know about advice. She said: a Malfoy breaks before he bends," answered Malfoy, making a fair impression of Narcissa's voice. "Very cliché."

Severus empathised with Malfoy, but he still agreed with Narcissa's choice concerning her son. It would have been a strategic mistake not to send Draco back when most of the other students had chosen to return.

Severus said, "I've heard worse."

Malfoy had reached the door of the Great Hall, and there he hesitated.

Two sixth-year Slytherins passed them. They hesitated at the entrance of the Great Hall and then entered with bent heads. They slunk rather than walked towards the Slytherin table.

"Fear is unbecoming. If it's there, it shouldn't show," Severus said as he watched them. He caught Malfoy's eye and indicated that he should enter the room before him.

Malfoy gave Severus a wry smile, straightened his neck, placed a sneer on his face and, adopting his usual swagger, he walked through the door. The boy was more like his mother than Severus had realised. A good thing. He strode after Malfoy, catching up with him as they came up level with the Slytherin table.

"Sit with me," said Severus, "if you like."

"Fine." Malfoy's fleeting expression of relief was quickly substituted by his customary haughty one.

"Zabini," said Severus when they reached the centre of the table. "Please move over."

Zabini shot Severus a filthy look but moved, and Severus and Malfoy sat down.

Severus chose to enjoy a cup of strong, black coffee and watched as the Heads of House worked their way down their respective tables, handing out timetables to the students. The familiarity of it almost made him shudder. It had been tedious, boring work.

Severus sought out Lavender instead. She was sitting next to the Weasley girl, her blond hair loose and smooth over her back. Sipping his coffee, he tried to come up with a way to get close to her, preferably before Zabini did. He looked at the students at the Gryffindor table, contemplating whether one of them could be used as means of introduction. Then his gaze caught on William Weasley, who had been working his way down the Gryffindor table. He was speaking to Ginny Weasley now, and he was going to speak with Lavender next. Lavender's timetable would be set within minutes. This was probably the best opportunity he would get. He leaned over to Malfoy.

"Do you happen to have an Extendable Ear handy?" Severus asked.

"I might. Why do you want it?"

"I want to listen in on a conversation."

Malfoy sniggered. "Let me rephrase: to whom do you want to listen?"

Severus gave Malfoy the glare that had made first-years cry and sent seventh-years running for cover. The result was less than satisfactory: Malfoy laughed.

"That look worked when your Father did it, but with you ... sorry, not at all as impressive. But I do have one. I'll give it to you if you tell me whom you want to use it on."

Severus knew he would have to give in if he wanted the Ear. William Weasley had been talking to his sister for a while now, and he was sure to move on to Lavender any minute.

"I want to know Brown's curriculum," he said, waiting for Malfoy to laugh. He didn't.

"I should have known," said Malfoy as he slipped Severus an Extendable Ear.

Severus set it in motion – and just in time. Weasley nodded at his sister and continued on to Lavender, even as the Ear slithered under the tables, coming to rest on top of Lavender's bag.

Malfoy was trying to listen in, and Severus was forced to elbow him hard in the ribs to get him out of the way.

"You are drawing attention."

Malfoy sat up straight again, looking petulant.

"Fine, but you'll tell me everything later," he said, glaring at Severus. Severus ignored him.

" ... waste."

Weasley's stern voice.

"But they're the subjects I took my sixth year."

Lavender, sounding whiny.

"Yes. But you got seven OWLs, and now, instead of taking the ones that could land you a good job, you chose three NEWTs: DADA, Muggle Studies and Divination."

Seven OWLs. Severus was surprised. He hadn't known that.

"But Headmistress McGonagall –"

"I talked to her about you, and she wants you to try harder."

"But ... "

Weasley looked at the scroll he was carrying, ignoring Lavender's protest.

"You wanted to be a beautician?"

Beautician? Severus felt horribly disappointed. How very useless.

"No, not exactly. I want to make my own skin ointments. My mum has this skin condition ..."

Lavender looked eager now.

"You would need to take Potions then."

"I know, and Professor Slughorn accepts Es from his students, so that's not a problem. Why don't you consider taking the subjects you're qualified for?"

A useless question. Severus had never – in his years as Head of House – asked his students: he had decided for them. Students made notoriously bad choices and parental advice, biased at best, rarely helped.

"But ..."

"Oh no, please. I only got an A, and he breeds the most horrible things. The Skrewts were just ... Eurgh ..."

Severus stopped himself from chuckling just in time. Instead he made sure he kept his features in an indifferent mask. Weasley was trying to hide a smile too; Severus could see that, even from this distance.

"Hagrid knows he's not allowed to breed creatures like that, and he said he'd be happy to have you. He was very impressed with the way you handled the Skrewts. So, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and Potions."

Lavender looked down at her lap.

"But what about Divination?"

"Divination? I suppose you can take that too, if you like."

Weasley's disdain for the subject was obvious. Severus hoped that Weasley wouldn't influence her in this matter. Not that he disagreed with Weasley, but if he had to suffer through Divination, he wanted Lavender there. Watching her would at least keep the boredom at bay.

"What about Muggle Studies? I had an O in Muggle Studies." Lavender was pleading with Weasley now.

"You're Muggle-born, aren't you?"

"Then why take Muggle Studies? It's a waste of time."

Severus silently agreed.

Weasley continued, "This curriculum has the advantage of opening up several career options. You'll need to work hard at Potions and Charms, though. You barely got the required marks in those. We've already freed up time by dropping Muggle Studies, and if I were you, I'd drop Divination so you can focus on the important subjects."

Lavender's shoulders were hunched.

"I'll drop it then. I don't think I'll manage if I don't."

"Good choice."

Severus swore to himself as Weasley waved his wand over a piece of parchment and gave it to Lavender.

Severus took the ear-piece out, summoned the Extendable Ear, and passed it back to Malfoy.

Lavender and Zabini would unfortunately be sharing classes. Severus remembered Zabini's curriculum. The boy wanted a career in banking, just like Malfoy. That meant Aritmancy, Ancient Runes, Charms and DADA. He also took Potions for some obscure reason Severus didn't want to know.

He didn't know how he would get into DADA and Potions without raising suspicion, and Charms was just as bad. But he needed to get into at least one of them. Potions was a necessity. It would be easy enough for Zabini to be grouped together with Lavender, especially since Slughorn favoured the boy.

A voice right behind him interrupted his musing, taking him by surprise. He barely succeeded in not flinching.

"Oho," said Slughorn, "Severus Snape, our new – celebrity."

Slughorn's demeanour was jovial, and he seemed filled with what Severus assumed was supposed to be bonhomie. It always came off on a false note.

"Hardly that, Professor Slughorn," said Severus, keeping his voice cool and polite. "There are students far more deserving of that epithet."

Slughorn chuckled. "Now, now. Don't put yourself down m'boy. Being Britain's next wandmaker isn't something you should disparage." He winked at Severus. "The son of Severus Snape too. That alone ... and placed in Slytherin, but where else, where else? It usually runs in families." Slughorn bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. "Your father was brilliant, of course. Outstanding. You'll take after him, I'm sure." He looked at Severus as if he were a particularly tasty treat.

Severus repressed a shudder. He didn't like Slughorn. He never had.

"Spoke to the Headmistress about you. Told me you were taking Care of Magical Creatures and Divination," said Slughorn. "Your Father and Dumbledore taught you the rest? Such a shame. It would have been good for Potter to have some competition."

"Any Slytherins in your class, Professor?" Severus said and tried to smile.

"Of course: Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy." A derisive note crept into Slughorn's voice when he mentioned Malfoy.

Severus hesitated but decided on a direct approach. He wouldn't get a better opportunity than this.

"Father had a lot to say about learning," he said, keeping his voice slow and thoughtful. "He often emphasised the importance of learning from numerous sources. He didn't like me being home-schooled. Unfortunately, it was a necessity." He paused and looked at Slughorn, whose moustache was fluttering with excitement.

"I have always found Potions interesting, and I was wondering if I could join your class after all?" Severus paused for effect. "I do understand if you can't accept me, since I haven't got any official marks." He gave Slughorn a look he hoped was sufficiently imploring. He didn't think it came off particularly well if Malfoy's reaction – snatching a napkin, covering his mouth, and muffling his laughter – was anything to go by.

Thankfully, it was good enough for Slughorn.

"But of course, of course, m'boy. I'll talk to the Headmistress immediately, immediately. Your father was right, and it will be so exciting to see if you share his flair for the subject."

"Do you think there might be room for me in Professor Weasley's class too?" Severus said, hurrying with the request since Slughorn showed every sign of heading straight for Minerva. Slughorn gave Severus a somewhat sly look.

"I'm sure there is. After all, your father was an authority. The master. Professor Weasley should be happy to have you," he said.

Severus didn't think that would be the case, since the Weasley clan had a rather set moral code that ruled out both favouritism and nepotism. Not that he cared as long as he got a spot in that class, so he smiled back at Slughorn, his cheeks aching with the effort. He wouldn't need Charms, thankfully. If he got these two, it would be enough. Beyond enough, in fact, since he didn't want to be at Hogwarts in the first place. Severus went from being pleased with the way things were developing to feeling sullen.

"I'll dash over to Professor Weasley and have a quick word, shall I?" said Slughorn, giving Severus another fatherly pat on the shoulder before waddling off.

"Your father used to be subtle. Did you know that?" said Malfoy with obvious amusement.

Severus snorted, "No, he wasn't. He was rather blunt. Besides, subtle would have been a waste of time," he said.

Malfoy nodded, conceding the point.

Severus watched Slughorn and Weasley as the talked. Weasley didn't seem pleased with the discussion, but Slughorn had a tenacious streak few could hold out against. Weasley was not one of the few. Severus could see the moment when Weasley gave up.

Next Slughorn went over to Minerva, and another animated conversation took place. One where Minerva's eyebrows rose, her eyes rounded and her chin fell. When she closed her mouth she looked over at Severus, giving him a thoughtful look. He knew that look, and it didn't bode well for the questioning Severus would have to endure later. She finally looked back at Slughorn and gave him a curt nod.

Slughorn returned with a broad grin on his face, waved his wand over a piece of parchment with dramatic showmanship and handed Severus the timetable. A quick look revealed that he would have to suffer through double Care of Magical Creatures and Divination on Mondays, while having Potions and DADA on Thursdays and Friday afternoons. At least he would get to leave Hogwarts two and a half days a week, and maybe he could convince Ollivander to let him work Saturdays and Sundays too.

"Thank you, Professor."

"Delighted, m'boy." For a moment it looked as if Slughorn was going to leave, but then he made a show of remembering something. "Oh, almost forgot: I'm hosting a small gathering next Saturday. The students call it the Slug Club ... " Slughorn chortled. "You'll come?"

Severus bit down hard on his cheek, and for a fraction of a second he thought that not even the pain he inflicted on himself would be enough to stop the retort he wanted to give.

"Of course, Professor. I would be honoured," Severus said as Malfoy started to cough into his napkin again. As Slughorn went on to talk to Malfoy, Severus was left wondering how he would explain his change of mind to Minerva and how he would get out of attending the Slug Club.