chapter 2... can't figure out these lj-cuts, meh
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Warnings: contain character death and slash in later chapters. Will not be OotP and/or HBP combatable.
Disclaimer: I own none of Potterverse. It's all owned by the wonderful Ms. J. K. Rowling
Feedback would be much appreciated as I'm a relatively new writer.
Chapter 2. Rivals or friends?
Hogwarts Express - September 1971
Severus watched the two new boys sit opposite Harry. They were trouble, he just knew it. It had nothing to do with his fear that they'd somehow influence his new 'friend' to rethink his welcome of Severus.
The shorter of the two nudged the other and cleared his throat. It seemed that he'd decided to be the spokesperson for the two.
"Sorry, we didn't introduce ourselves. I'm James Potter and this git is Sirius Black. And yes he's one of those Blacks, if you're wondering."
Severus narrowed his eyes suspiciously, what had the boy meant by his comment.
"I'm Harry Finnegan and this is my friend Severus Snape." Severus snapped his head to look at Harry astonished. He'd thought the other boy was just making conversation before, not making friends as he'd half hoped. Inside him, Severus could feel a small glow of warmth. He had a friend. Time would tell if Harry was true or not, but now he could just bask in the knowledge that he'd made his first friend.
"So, what did you mean by saying Sirius was one of those Blacks?" Harry inquired curiously.
Severus, of course, would deny on pain of death or at least threats of withholding ice -cream, but he was also curious. (Severus was an ice-cream addict, in other words an ICA as the syndrome was widely known.)
"Sirius comes from a very old and dark family. They've always been dark; in fact they openly support the Dark Lord and his notions of muggleborn eradication. I don't mean Sirius is bad, just his family." James told Harry and Severus earnestly. It was clear that he was trying to make sure that no one would accuse his friend of being a pureblood elitist.
"Wait, you don't know about the Blacks. Are you mud-?"
"Muggleborn?" Sirius was interrupted by James.
Severus noticed the mudblood term that the boy had been about to use and filed it away to think on later.
"I'm muggleborn, I guess. My uncle was a wizard so it might run in the family." Harry said uncertainly. He'd also caught the term and unlike Severus knew what it meant. He was uncertain if his plan would work if Sirius was calling them mudbloods already.
"What about you, Sev?" asked James in an attempt to get them to forget his friends comment.
"DON'T CALL ME SEV!" Severus yelled in anger.
"Sorry, sheesh, no need to be so touchy." James placated Severus. James was rather taken back by the quiet boys eruption. How was he to know that Sev had been what Anna, Severus' mother, had called him.
An awkward silence descended in the compartment.
"I'm a half-blood." Severus finally snapped getting tired of the encouraging looks from Harry. He knew that he'd overreacted, but couldn't really apologize without loosing face.
"So you two aren't brothers then?" Harry asked feeling that it was his job to make things okay between the others. That was in fact a big part of his plan. He couldn't leave things as they were if he was going to remake history.
"No," James laughed "we're related, but the closest that we get is some fourth cousin twice removed. Every pureblood family is connected in some way."
"Doesn't that make it hard to find a spouse that isn't related?" Harry enquired in disbelief.
"Well... yes, in a way. We usually marry from abroad if there are too many close relatives. That is if we don't marry muggleborn or just plain muggles." James explained.
Up till then Sirius had been sulking from James' interruption. He perked up at this.
"So your parents are muggles, eh? You've got eclecticity at home and a telivision?" To Severus it was clear that he didn't have a clue to what he was asking, but was fascinated none the less.
The rest of the train ride was spent between Harry and Severus trying to explain the muggle world to the two clueless purebloods.
TBC...
AN: To those who have asked, the idea is that Harrys past is revealed slowly by Severus. So the background of Harrys trip through time isn't going to be told for some time.
For those who've wondered at Harrys small stature, that's also tied to his trip in time. So be patient.
Many thanks to all those who reviewed, it's because of you that I've decided to continue writing this story, so thanks again.
Edit: lj-cuts working, yay!