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The Mudblood’s Address


“So let me get this straight - you and Severus Snape go to a detention and you end up saving the life of the divination teacher?” Remus looked positively awestruck as he clutched his pillow and looked over across Peter and James’s beds to where Sirius sat, unbuttoning his school uniform shirt. His tie was flung over the end of the bed. “You literally saved a professor’s life.”

“All in a day’s work,” Sirius answered. “We just ran down there, saw what was wrong, and I run over to Severus’s potions kit and grabbed the bezoar, and --”

“How’d you know to use a bezoar?” asked Peter, staring at Sirius from his desk, eyes wide.

“Slughorn told us about bezoars in first year, don’t you remember?” Sirius said, omitting the fact that he himself did not remember.

James shook his head, “Blimey, you’re good, mate.”

“I know,” Sirius agreed, grinning.

“You should be able to get off of Divination homework for the rest of the term!” James said.

“Wait that means I have to do it all alone,” Peter said, looking at Sirius imploringly. “You’ll still help me, won’t you?”

Remus said, “Did Dumbledore or Veigler say how long Professor Vablatsky was going to be at the hospital wing?”

Sirius shook his head. “They didn’t. But she walked out of the room okay with Pomfrey, so it shouldn’t be too long…”

“What was the poison again?” asked James.

“Banesberry,” Sirius said. “Apparently it’s native to America and it can kill you pretty fast. Makes your heart stop up.”

Peter looked nervous, “Who would want to kill Professor Vablatsky?” he asked, “She’s so nice.”

“Dunno,” Sirius said. “She said the tea came by owl - said it was from Madam Puddifoot’s.”

“Odd,” James said.

“Very,” agreed Sirius.

The excitement hashed out, they all got ready for bed, putting on their pyjamas, though they stayed up pretty late even so eating animal crackers and making terrific zoo sounds at one another, laughing hysterically when Remus pretended to bite into a wolf cookie and then talked in his regular voice. Peter did a couple elephants and Sirius a tiger. The best was James, who choked on a dolphin shape and made squeaky shrieks for several moments as he coughed on cookie crumbs stuck in his lungs.

Next morning they made their way down to the Great Hall from Gryffindor Tower. The first session of Divination was cancelled for the day - Frank Longbottom and the other fourth years that were supposed to be in the class were very interested to hear what had gone on the day before and it seemed within absolute seconds the whole Great Hall was talking about how Sirius Black had saved Professor Vablatsky with his brilliant bezoar trick.

Severus Snape came up late from the Slytherin common room, having stayed up a lot of the night reading about Amortentia and how best to administer it, and he yawned as he walked into the Great Hall to the table. Evan Rosier and Dimitri Goyle were leaned close together, talking, as Severus lowered himself onto the bench opposite them, stretching and reaching for a warm biscuit. Evan looked up. “So Vablatsky almost died in your detention, huh?”

Severus had been hoping that word wouldn’t get around much about what had happened. The less talk it got at Hogwarts, the less likely it was that the Dark Lord would find out what he’d done. Severus shrugged.

“I heard she was poisoned,” said Walden McNair, “And Sirius Black shoved a bezoar down her throat and saved her life.”

Never had Severus been so happy for a misunderstanding which attributed his talent to somebody else.

McNair scowled, “Alistor Mulciber’s quite worked up on it... Apparently the Dark Lord is furious. The poison was from one of his lot.”

Severus had been right. He knew he was. He thought of the faces of the Death Eaters that had surrounded the Dark Lord’s chair that night in the parlor at Number 12 Grimmauld Place over the holiday and he even thought he knew who it might’ve been that had sent the Banesberry Tea to Professor Vablatsky. “Druella?” guessed Severus.

McNair nodded solemnly.

“Druella?” Evan Rosier looked interested, “Druella Black?”

“Yeah, Narcissa’s mother,” McNair nodded. “She was in Numengard for ages.”

“Since when’s she been out?” asked Rosier, “I didn’t know she was out.”

“Broke out, didn’t she?” asked McNair, “Didn’t you hear? Aren’t your parents well connected?”

Rosier’s cheeks darkened. “Of course, but I haven’t heard what happened.” He looked around at them, “Is Druella good with poisons?”

“Most excellent,” McNair said. “She studied along with Slughorn. Tried to get a position here, but was turned down. She ended up becoming a healer at St. Mungo’s but she ended up fired from there because she refused to treat a mudblood - and rightly so! Ended up in prison for selling poisons she peddled off to muggles as antidotes to their ailments that actually killed’m. She did some time hiding from the aurors with Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf.” He leaned closer, “Rumor has it, she and him… were… a bit more’n friendly if you know what I mean?”

Severus, the only one in the conversation who had ever met Greyback, shuddered. He couldn’t picture anyone being “a bit more’n friendly” with the grizzled werewolf with his dry, almost calloused lips and sneering face. Greyback was easily the most horrible creature that Severus Snape had ever met in his entire life. He was terrified of him, really, with those terrible eyes and long canine teeth.

“I hope the Dark Lord murders him for what he’s done,” McNair was saying. He was glowering over at the Gryffindor table, where Sirius Black was talking animatedly with James Potter. “Little sloucher - blood traitor… I don’t know why the Dark Lord’s allowed him to live so long as he has. Must be Walburga Black’s done some pleading on his behalf.”

Suddenly, Regulus Black was involved in the conversation, leaning in at the mention of Sirius. Regulus snorted, “Please. Mother hates him as much as I do - if not more - which is saying something. You know, she cruciatus cursed him until he wet himself last summer? The baby, it only took a matter of seconds, too. I wouldn’t have been so weak and I’m two years younger than he is!”

“I’d like to cruciatus him,” hissed Rosier, “Him and his little puffer fish.”

“Especially the puffer fish,” Regulus laughed.

The end of breakfast had come and they were all getting up from the tables, the Ravenclaws practically running out of the Great Hall for their classes. Regulus was only a few paces ahead of Severus, talking to Barty Crouch. There was a bottleneck happening at the door as the students left the Hall and Regulus was looking over his shoulder at his friend and he walked smack inot Lily Evans.

“Watch where you’re going Mudblood!” he shouted.

Lily rolled her eyes and tried to step around without engaging him (it was him who had walked into her, not looking where he was going after all), but Regulus sneered, “Hold on a minute, where do you think you’re going? Mudbloods to the back of the line! Purebloods should be given passage through the door first - show some respect!”

Lily glared, “Bugger off you little flea,” she snapped, and she went to step ‘round Regulus yet again.

“You need to be taught a lesson about respect!” Regulus said and he drew his wand.

Lily’s arms were full of books and she had no time to draw her wand in retaliation.

She didn’t need to though because as Regulus cast his spell, two things happened at the very same time. First, Severus Snape and James Potter both leaped in to block Lily from Regulus’s spell and second, Sirius Black raised his wand, too. “Expelliarmus!” he cried.

Whatever spell Regulus had been about to cast did not fire and Sirius caught his brother’s wand easily as James and Severus recovered from having run right into each other and hitting the flagstone floor. Sirius glared at his brother, “I should think we would’ve been done with having this chat about you trying to curse my friends.” He threw Regulus’s wand down on the stone. “Do it again and I’ll snap it in half.”

“You can’t,” Regulus sneered quietly, picking it up. But Sirius noticed he stowed it in the pocket in his robes immediately. “If you try, I’ll give the Dark Lord all your secrets. I still have your letters.” He looked at Lily, “I have the Mudblood’s address. Perhaps the Dark Lord would fancy a good target for his Death Eaters!” Regulus grinned, “Unless of course you want to apologize to me, of course,” he said.

Lily stared at him with hatred in her eyes. “Whatever for?”

“Being a filthy mudblood who thinks they’ve the right to walk ahead of a pureblood wizard.”

“She doesn’t have to apologize for that, you idiot,” said James ferociously.

Lily stepped around him, putting her hand on his arm, and looked at Regulus. “I’m sorry to have offended you,” she said in as sincere a voice as she could. Her voice trembled.

“Good to see at least one of your friends has got a brain,” Regulus said to Sirius. Then he looked at Lily again, considered her a moment, and walked on through the doorway, leaving them all huddled about.

Severus turned to Lily, “Are you alright?”

She had tears in her eyes, so all she did was shake her head and push past Severus and James and out the front doors of the school, onto the grounds, headed for Care for Magical Creatures class. Severus started after her.

James looked ‘round at Sirius. “I almost get myself cursed for her and I don’t even get a thank you? What the bloody hell is that about?”

Sirius slid his wand in his pocket. “Chivalry is dead, mate.”

“I guess it is!” James exclaimed, shaking his head, “Merlin’s beard.”

“We gotta figure out a way to get those letters back from him, I hate that he has them.”

“You don’t reckon he’d actually tell Voldemort to go after Lily, do you?” James worried.

“You gonna jump in front of Voldemort for her, too, James?”

He puffed out his chest. “I already have once, so why not?”

“Just remember your ruddy wand next time,” Sirius laughed.

James reddened, “I know, I know. I dunno why I don’t think to draw it when I get into these situations. I just -- I never do. I act too fast, I s’pose.”

Sirius shook his head. “Every bloody time, though.”

They caught up with Remus and Peter, who had been ahead of them in the crowd and carried away from the row in the throngs of moving students. “Is everything alright? Lily just went by crying - and, as usual when she cries, Snape was right behind her.” Remus frowned.

“For once, it wasn’t Snivellus’s fault,” Sirius said, and he told Rey and Peter all about what happened with Regulus.

“Your brother’s a real jerk,” Peter commented when Sirius had finished the tale.

“I know,” Sirius agreed, “Always has been. I swear the only person on the planet can stand him is that little toad Barty Crouch and Kreacher!”

“It’s incredible, seeing as he’s so charming,” James said with an eyeroll.

Ahead of them, Severus had caught up with Lily. “Wait.”

“Just because you tried to step in doesn’t mean I want to talk with you yet,” Lily snapped, not slowing for him to catch up, “I’m still angry with you.”

“Well wait, I may have a way for you to get unangry with me,” Severus said and Lily crossed her arms and looked down at him.

“What is it then? Tell me what your miraculous Unangry with Severus trick is, then.”

Severus leaned closer, “I have the letters Regulus was talking about.”

Lily blinked in surprise, this wasn’t what she’d expected. “What?”

“The letters. The ones Regulus was saying he would give to the Dark Lord and all of that? I stole them from him. I have them. He hasn’t noticed yet, I guess.” Severus hesitated, the vague shadows of an idea - “I’ll give them to you if you like, so they’re in your care and you know he can’t give the Dark Lord your address.”

Lily’s heart jumped into her throat, “You’d do that?”

“Of course,” Severus said, looking up at her. “I told you, Lily, I love you. I’ll do anything it takes to make you happy.”

She caught a glimpse of Remus walking across the snow covered grounds with the other three boys and looked at Severus, anxious to know that Remus’s secret was contained again, as well as her family’s safety being had. “When? When will you give them to me?”

“Lunch” he suggested. “We’ll meet by the boat docks below the dungeons. Off the Entrance Hall. You know where I mean?”

“Okay,” Lily said.