the marriage stone (Discontinued)

Chapter 17 - Thorns

They sat for a while in the parlor, Diana making an attempt to keep the conversations amongst the brothers civil. But Harry could see that the animosity amongst the three oldest at least was not going to be overcome in one night. Julius, for his part, seemed not to care about the family squabble, and participated very little in the discussion. Instead, to Harry's consternation, he spent the majority of his time staring at Harry. Whenever Harry looked over at him it was to see those dark eyes gazing speculatively at him, almost hungrily. It made him very uncomfortable.

True to Severus' word, Claudius, Marcellus, Delphina and Julliana each found a moment to speak privately with Harry, asking him about his plans for Snape Manor. The two women offered graciously to have it redecorated for him, while the two men pointed out the importance of having a suitable home for someone of his status to entertain important dignitaries in. Harry just smiled at them all and told them to talk to Severus about the subject since he was far to busy with his schoolwork to think about such matters. They each looked disappointed but not deterred.

Eventually Delphina and Julliana ushered them all into the dining room for dinner. Harry was seated beside Julius, directly across the table from Severus. One glance at the table showed the expected daggers Neville had talked about. To his relief there were also forks at each of the settings, but they were set off at an odd angle - indication Neville had explained that they were there simply as a courtesy to a Muggle-born guest, and not really intended for use.

Before the first course was served, a toast was made, Claudius giving a somewhat longwinded speech welcoming Harry to the family - something that would have been fine in and of itself, if he hadn't also managed to lace it generously with hints about their family name being formerly tarnished so egregiously. Severus, surprisingly, endured the comments in silence, most likely for Diana's sake, but they made Harry angry. It wasn't a whole lot different than that first letter they had sent to Severus. Harry had never gotten along with Severus, but he knew exactly what it felt like to be treated like scum by one's family. And considering that Severus was in fact the hero of this little family drama and not the villain, as his brothers would have everyone believe, it was doubly unfair.

Fine, he thought in irritation. If they were going to be rude, then he wasn't going to worry about offending them. When the first course was served, he unfolded his silk napkin in a decidedly Muggle fashion, and reached immediately for the fork, bypassing the dagger entirely. When he glanced over at Severus, he thought he detected the faintest of smirks on the man's face; there was certainly a definite gleam of amusement in his eyes. Harry just grinned at him, and wondered what other mistakes he could make.

Sure enough his manners went completely uncommented - not unnoticed. Harry was quietly amused to see that they were not unnoticed - Julliana actually made a warding sign against evil when he passed the salt the wrong direction. But no one said anything about it.

Julius distracted him for a good portion of the dinner, asking him about his position on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, a subject he loved to talk about. While talking he forgot about the man's intense looks that made him so uncomfortable, and actually managed to enjoy himself. "What about you?" he eventually asked Julius. "Did you play in school?"

Julius shrugged. "I tried out for a team, but I really was never much of a flyer. I didn't mind though - it was just as much fun to watch the game I thought."

Harry disagreed with him there, but didn't say so. "What house were you in?"

"House?" Julius asked looking briefly confused. "Oh, yes of course. The Houses. I didn't go Hogwarts. I went to Beauxbatons. We all did, except for Severus."

"Really?" Harry knew his surprise showed on his face.

Marcellus, who'd overheard their conversation, leaned forward. "Yes, Harry," he said, loudly enough for the rest of the family to hear. "Severus was the only one at Hogwarts. I'm afraid Father was overly concerned with appearances. Didn't think the rest of us would get sorted into the right House."