Ink and Parchment ~ blood and bone

8

Severus sighed deeply as he poured himself another cup of black coffee and Minerva muffled a snort when he practically inhaled it.

His summer had been so peaceful. No Potter, no Dark Lord, no children, well aside from Draco. He had spent half his time brewing potions, writing scathing entries and replies to Potions Weekly and the other half draining the Malfoy's expensive extensive collection of wine. Lucius had been one of his closest friends at Hogwarts, steadfast in a way that the lestranges simply weren't and that friendship had also grown with Narcissa who was definitely the more ruthless out of the two.

It was the Black madness, he was sure of it. The only member it had seemingly passed over had been quiet and steady Regulus. Severus still found himself wondering what had happened to him sometimes late at night when his mind was half drowned in a bottle of whiskey. Perhaps the black family madness hadn't skipped him after all.

That did nothing to ease his worries when he remembered that Potter was also descended from the Blacks. It was not reassuring to think that brat might also be cursed with madness on top of her bad luck and mad Potter hair.

Severus reached across the table for another blueberry scone because the first day of classes always made him want to jump off the astronomy tower and he would be damned if he didn't let himself have his favourite breakfast before suffering that hell. He had just begun buttering his scone when he ran a cursory eye over the Slytherin table to see if there had been any shifts in power although he doubted it. Mr Blishwick had been the leader of every court he had been a part of since first year and he honestly doubted anyone from the 1st-3rd years would be interested in challenging Potter for -

Severus had been a spy for 13 years, had been a member of the dark lord's inner circle for even longer and had been able to keep his loyalties from two of the most skilled legilimens of their time. Three if you counted himself for he tried to not analyse his own subconscious too deeply and preferred to crawl through life like a particular sardonic embittered flobberworm. He was a master of self-control and yet when he looked in the direction of the Slytherin table he actually dropped his knife in surprise.

Said piece of damned cutlery nicked his hand and Severus had to muffle a string of curses whether in relation to what he had seen or the knife he didn't know.

Because Eliza Potter, twelve years old Eliza Potter, half blood, blood-traitor, girl-who-lived Eliza Potter had just become the Queen of Slytherin.

She sat contentedly with her court around her, she studied the slytherins with possessive eyes and satisfaction sat in her smile. In one night, one night, she had taken over Slytherin. Had dismantled a court of seventh years and taken claim over the entire house. A feat that had only ever been seen once prior 50 years ago. Potter looked absently over the staff table scrunching her nose in distaste when her gaze landed on Lockhart. Severus could relate to her hatred of the man but he wasn't going to let a perfect opportunity to find out what had happened last night slide.

Catching Potter's eye he attempted to slip into her surface level thoughts only to have to stop himself from physically recoiling. For instead of the admittedly usually well-organized mind of Potter's he was met with darkness. There was a door behind him, a key in the lock, the door he had used to enter her mind. But before him lay darkness. Before him lay nothing. And it was hungry. He was suddenly overcome with the sense that if he stayed here for much longer the darkness would devour him and he would become nothing too.

Severus had never exited a mind so quickly before. When he came back to himself he was clenching the table with white knuckles and Potter was staring at him from across the hall with an eyebrow raised and a mischievous smirk on her lips.

He looked away quickly and glanced at the headmaster who was jovially talking to Minerva, blissful in his ignorance over what manner of creature Hogwarts housed in its walls.