Mended Crown

(1991-1992 School Year

With a jolt, Alexander was awake. For eleven years, he had been having the same dream over and over again. But it wasn’t a dream, it was little more than a dream, but the night that was never brought up in their family. 

Anytime, he mentioned their mother, the room would grow quiet. It was hard to not talk about her, not when his sister, Amarra, looked so very similar to their mother. So, he stopped talking about her.

“Alexander!” A voice called to him from the foot of the stairs, it was soft but demanding. 

The bedroom door swung open and before he could defend himself, a pillow swung through the air and collided with his face. 

“I’m awake!” He pleaded. He saw his sister’s mischievous smile, and the pillow rise into the air before it landed against him once more. “Quit it!” 

“Nanna’s been calling you for hours.” Amarra raised the pillow once more. “We’re going to Diagon Alley today to get our school supplies.” 

“Thank you for the information, now get out.” He wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, but he knew his sister wouldn’t let him. 

She leaned in close to his face; he could smell the citrus tang of orange juice on her breath. “If you don’t get up, Athena will shit in your bed.” 

He sat, and glared at her. “Get out so I can get dressed.” He could tell that she wanted to mock him, but she turned around so fast, that he was lashed by the ends of her hair. 

“I tried to get him out of bed, but he’s just too stubborn,” he heard her say. He looked over her big head and caught a glimpse of their father. The black, bellowing robes of the current potions-master at Hogwarts greeted him, and he could spot that hooked nose from a mile away. 

Severus Snape, their darling father. 

“He gets that from me, I suppose,” Severus said. “Breakfast is on the table, we’re leaving in thirty.” His father’s voice was always a soft yet authoritative tone, and Alex had heard stories from their cousins, that Severus was much meaner to his students than to his own brood.

Amarra, turned to her brother and stuck her tongue out, before she followed after their father. Alex looked at the open doorway, so convinced that she would shut the door, but he knew better than to assume. He looked around the room; the sun crept along the baseboards and danced across the small sets of carpet. His bed mirrored hers on the other end of the room, but there was more clutter among her side than there ever would be on his. 

Between the two beds, however, was a golden stand and an empty terrarium. See, because of their respective natures, Amarra had a pet bird and Alex had a snake. Though, there were more animals than there were humans in the house, and he always thought that that complimented how the Snape household was. More animals than humans. 

Alex pulled on what clothes didn’t smell terribly, and started for the stairs. His flannel bellowed behind him as he rushed down the stairs and he came to a halt before the final step. “‘Scuse me, Salem.” 

He reached to pet the black cat, but she ran from his hand and down the hall. “What’s with her?” 

“She and the other bird-eaters are have a competition on who can catch the most mice,” Amarra said, her fork full of eggs. Then with pride, she said, “Athena’s caught two these morning.”

A older woman stood in the kitchen, a skillet of bacon in one hand and a spatula in the other. She nodded her head at the table, where both Amarra and Severus sat. “Serpentine’s caught one,” she said. 

He’d known her all his life, but whenever he saw her in his dream, he always felt bad for her. Zinnia, or as they called her, Nanna, had been knocked out when Rebecca was alive and when she awoke, her friend was dead. 

He took his seat across from Amarra, and filled his plate with a variety of things. At the head of the table, their father sat with the Daily Prophet, the moving faces on front cover look for something lost, perplexed by a sudden disappearance. Before Alex could look at the headline, Severus set the newspaper onto the table. He grumbled, “Same shit, same flies.” 

“What happened this time?” 

“Someone broke into Gringotts the other day, but the bank should be cleared by the time we get there.” Severus looked to Nanna. “Alastor was mentioned, said he wasn’t taking the case.” 

Alex looked back at Nanna, who gave a smile, then turned away. “Just means he’s wanting to be here before the kids go to school.” 

Severus scoffed, a chuckle. Alex ate quietly, Amarra tried her best to make breakfast as noisily as possible, but even she fell silent soon enough. Once the table had been cleared, and the dishes washed, the family of four set out. The fireplace lit up each time someone stepped through it, and with a twist and lurch, Alex came through the other side into the front room of the Leaky Cauldron.  They were split up: Amarra went with Nanna, to which Severus passed on a wooden case to the latter, and they went off. 

“I need to stop by the apothecary in Knockturn Alley,” Severus started. “I’ll make you a deal; if you pick out a jar from there, we’ll go into Borgin and Burkes for a few minutes.” 

They shook on it. Knockturn Alley was full of creepy and sketchy people, but Alex couldn’t care less. He picked out a potions jar, knowing damn well that it wasn’t going to be used for potions, and then went into antique store next door. Dark Arts objects filled the space, and as much as he knew not to touch the artifacts, he still felt compelled to be cursed by one. 

An abundance of jewelry sat on a little plate, and the more he looked at them, the more Alex couldn’t look away from one particular ring. It was gold, the carvings had been made to look like scales and the centerpiece was a black stone with an odd engraving. The more he looked at it, the more Alex was sure he’d seen it before. 

“How much for this ring?” Alex heard himself say. Both Mr. Burke and his father looked up from their conversation. 

“Too bloody expensive,” the gruff voice of Burke said. “Nearly costed me a fortune to buy it.” 

Alex eyed the ring once more, before he turned to leave. They continued to check things off the list; first to get his robes, then his books, then to the apothecary, then finally to Gringotts where they took out a small amount of money fit for two first-year students. 

“Now, your wand, and then we’ll go home.” Severus led the way, and talked about what kinds of potions Alex would be learning during the year. “Granted, you’ve already done your fair share of polyjuice and wolfsbane. This is child’s play, beginners work.” 

Since he was young enough to write, Alex had been brewing potions. Severus had made him a prodigy. Amarra took up divination, much like her mother, and together they were masters in a craft their fellow first-years barely knew of yet. 

Ollivander’s was a dusty and quaint shop when the father-son duo arrived. The only other customer insider was a woman a couple years older than Severus, but when she turned to greet the duo, a smile appeared on her face. 

“Severus,” she said. Her blonde hair flowed down to the center of her back, her dark eyes rested on the boy the same age as her son. “Just looking for a possible wand for my son, I see you’re doing the same.” 

Alex knew her; he loved her. She was his and Amarra’s godmother. But she was married to the man who killed his mother. 

“We’ve come to have Ollivander inspect a particular wand.” Severus drew a wooden box from his pocket, and handed it to her. “Think it’ll be a good fit?” 

She examined it,  and then Alex. She nodded and handed it to the boy. Mr. Ollivander came out with a few boxes for Narcissa to look at, but she wanted to stay for her godson’s ceremony. Ollivander examined the wand in his hands. 

Alex had never seen the wand before. He knew about Amarra’s, because it was once their mother’s, but this one was new to him. “How interesting. Exquisite, yet testy. They say that this wand is possibly more powerful than the Elder Wand or Merlin’s. Give it a try, my boy.” 

Alex carefully took it in his hands. A vein twitched in his neck and his head strained against the whisper in his head. He lifted the wand examine it himself; a carved snake slithered up the handle, the eyes were a dark emerald-green, and it opened its mouth slightly. 

They’re scared of snakes because we’re different than them, but they should be more scared of our bite. 

He didn’t register that the grownups were talking, but he caught bits of what was being said. “It’s snakewood… rare core of basilisk horn…very inflexible…eleven and three-fourth inches…special care needs to be taken…valuable if lost.” 

Alex could still hear the snaky whispers in his head, the curse behind the blessing. He hadn’t realized that Narcissa was about to leave until she placed a hand on his cheek. “I’ll see you soon, sweet boy.” 

They walked back to the Leaky Cauldron, but the voices still rang in Alex’s head. If his father had spoken to him, Alex didn’t hear him. At one point, they passed a giant of a man and a young boy, and when Alex looked back at the boy his age, something felt off. 

He and the Former are one soul, be weary. 

——

The next month went by with ease. Severus showed his children the safest and fastest ways around the school, and informed them of their classes and how they would be spending very little time around one another. By the end of August, Severus had lectured them enough that he was so sure that they wouldn’t get in trouble their first week. The professor left the night before the twins departed for the train, and the evening felt still. 

Their trunks and bags had been packed and placed by the door; Alex had to fight with his snake about staying in a travel cage until they got to the school, but the snake won the argument. “Just make sure you ask others about him before you let him out.” Nanna warned him. 

Alastor Moody, Nanna’s darling, had decided to stay the night and drive them to the station, and he nodded in agreement with his partner. “Kids don’t take kindly to such pets, especially students.”

Adults don’t either, Alex thought. 

At eight the next morning, they were off. Nanna made a joke about not being able to pass through the barrier, but she made it through just fine. They picked a cab in the back of the train, and once their belongings were settled in, the twins said goodbye to Nanna and Alastor. Alex saw many wizarding and muggle families saying goodbye to their children; Narcissa was one of them. 

But one eleven-year-old boy caught Alex’s eye. His hair was the color of charcoal, and his eyes and skin were the same color, a dark shade of brown. His mother and what he presumed the boy’s father stood by him, but they both looked uncomfortable. From afar, he learned the boy’s name: Blaise. 

The whistle sounded, and students started to fill the compartments. Nanna kissed them both, and the twins found their cab just as they did before. The train lurched from the platform, and when Alex looked at the door, he saw the same boy from before. “Mind if I join you?” 

Alex waved to the empty seat across from him. “I’m Alexander, and this is my sister, Amarra.” 

Amarra pulled Athena and her cage from the shelf above them, and the boy gaped at both animals. “And here I thought I had a cool pet. I’m Blaise, by the way. Blaise Zabini.” 

Alex asked if he could take Serpentine from his cage, and Blaise only agreed if he could pet him. Serpentine coiled around the length of Alex’s arm, and when Blaise reached out to pet him, the snake took it as an invitation to coil around his arm. “I have a cat named Erskine. But Mum says that I’ll get to bring him to Hogwarts at Christmas.” 

“That’s still a cool pet,” Amarra beamed. The lunch trolley had passed by an hour prior, and they had been talking since. Blaise had told them that the man with his mother wasn’t his father, and that his mother had taken the liberty of starting a new scheme. 

“What kind of scheme—”

The door slid open, and a group of three boys stood in the doorway. “‘Ello Zabini,” said a pale boy, whom Alex recognized as Narcissa’s son, Draco. “Who’re your new friends?” 

It was an agitating voice, drawling and entitled. Another Malfoy. The more Alex looked at him, the more he noticed the eyes of the man in his dreams. 

Amarra looked to Alex. “We’re the—”

“Wilts,” Alex said. “Alexander and Amarra Wilts.”

There was a look of contemplation of Malfoy’s face. “Huh. Never heard of them, are they purebloods, or apart of the lesser population?” 

“Purebloods, we replaced the Shafiq family after they went extinct.” Amarra caught onto the lie. The Wilts family were as old as the Blacks, but they were never apart of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Blood-traitors and cowards. 

A satisfied grin appeared on Malfoy’s face. And he nodded to his two buddies. “This is Crabbe and Goyle. And I’m Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.” 

Okay, James Bond, chill out, Alex thought. 

Malfoy turned back to Blaise, and welcomed him into the Slytherin house. Once the gang left, Alex turned to Blaise. “I assume your family are strict about what house you join?” 

Blaise nodded gravely. “It’s tradition. When you’re a pureblood, your family tradition decides your house. Is your’s not like that?” 

Alex and Amarra looked at one another. “About that,” she said. 

“We’re not purebloods. We’re half.” 

Blaise looked at them, confused. “Wait, what? Why lie?”

“Because we know how those ones act. Status means everything to them… to you as well, I guess.” Alex caught himself. He didn’t want to offend Blaise. 

“I mean, I like purebloods and halfbloods, but I draw the line at Muggles and Squibs.” The twins exchanged looks again. “What now?” 

“The caretaker at Hogwarts is a squib, and the woman who raised us is one too.” Alex couldn’t tell if Blaise was embarrassed or secretly frustrated, but his cheeks grew pink from the information. “The world isn’t built on just purebloods, the wizarding world wouldn’t existed if it wasn’t for the help of Muggles and Muggle-borns.” 

After that, Blaise barely talked. Alex felt sorry. When the train came to a stop at the station, Blaise felt the compartment before Alex could say anything more to him. He waited for Amarra on the platform, his robes clung to him and the summer breeze collided with him. They caught up with the other first-years, and rowed across the lake to the other side of the castle. 

They were greeted by tall, severe-looking woman in green robes at the doors. She informed them of what they were going to walk into, and how Hogwarts has been the foundation for multiple famous witches and wizards. She explained that their housemates would be like their second family, and Alex already felt hated by his classmates. Ahead of them, Blaise whispered to Malfoy, who constantly looked back to the twins.

“They know,” he whispered to his sister. “They know we’re frauds.” 

She nodded along, and then grabbed his hand. They waited on McGonagall to return, but every second the group was alone, the more nervous Alex became. Finally, she came back, and in a line, the first-years were escorted through the Great Hall.

Four long tables were filled with students, and each table had a different color garb as a table setting. At the end of the tables, a large and carved table sat atop a small stage and each of the professors sat ready. Severus sat among them, his cold eyes peered at the children, especially at his brood. 

“When I call your name, you will come up to the stool and I’ll place the hat of your head. Once done, you will go to your respected table. Hannah Abbot!” 

One by one, students were called to the sorting hat. Malfoy had been sorted into Slytherin, and Alex’s stomach lurched. Then, the boy whom Alex saw at Diagon Alley was called, but now he had a name. 

Harry Potter. 

He sat up there for a while before he was sorted into Gryffindor. More names had been called until finally… 

“Alexander Snape.” 

A low murmur filled the air, and Severus sat up with an indigent behavior. Amarra’s hand left her brother’s, and Alex plucked a string of courage from the depths of his heart and stepped forward. “Professor Snape has a kid?” The whispers followed him, as did the eyes. 

He sat upon the stool, and the hat engulfed him. All the whispers went away, and all he saw was darkness. 

“I sense a strange peculiar about you, boy,” the hat said, deep into his mind.  “So much to uphold. Snape, Wilts, Prince, Black, the names of old and new. Names fit for kings, legacies wishing to be told.” 

Alex inhaled sharply. The hat debated his house for sometime, in what felt like hours. Then, it called out, “Slytherin!” 

Alex released his breath he didn’t know he was holding. He looked at his robes, from black to green they changed, and he slowly walked to the table designated for him. His housemates, however, looked the most unpleased with him. Malfoy and the others who had been sorted before him, moved away and even Blaise didn’t bat an eye in his direction. 

At least Amarra looked loved by her housemates. 

Professor Dumbledore gave his speech, and then sent the students to bed. Alex lingered behind his housemates, their excited chatter stopped outside the stone wall that was their common room. The prefects explained many things to them, including the password. “Hemlock,” they said, and a large snake slithered up the wall from the floor to reveal a door. 

Alex found the common room to be very… cold. There was a series of spiral stairs that led to the main room, and even still Alex felt the distance between this common room and other others. Large windows looked out into the lake, and on occasion, the giant squid would roll by. Multiple sets of bookcases and fireplaces were strung across the walls, black leather couches laid between and the miscellaneous artifacts on tables. The prefects explained the situation about the split genders; girls to the left, both up and down another set of stairs, then the boys were the same but on the right. 

Alex focused on the portrait of their house founder along one of the walls; two stone pillars held slithering stone snakes, and when he got closer, they inched upwards and around the portrait. One look at Slytherin’s eyes, and Alex knew he was the man’s descendant. The wand in his pocket hissed, and he traced over the carved snake with his thumb. 

Our sire, blessed by water and kissed by death. 

Alex felt a hand on his shoulder, and when he turned, he expected his father by his side. Instead, there was no one but himself in this vast common room. 

He wanted to go to bed, but his father’s shadow appeared at the end of the main staircase, and Alex walked to him. “Your mother would’ve wanted to be here. Both she and I are very proud,” Severus said once Alex was in front of him. 

“Salazar has been speaking about you for the last few months, I hope you’ll meet with him soon. Both he and Baron have been excited to meet you.” Alex knew as much as any kid his age knew about the Founders, but Salazar always lingered in his mind. Ever since he was born, he remembered seeing the ghost—grey-faced and somber—a vision of a past Alex never knew. “Anyway, I have a few things for you.” 

Severus took him up the stairs, away from other eyes. He handed his son a piece of parchment, his schedule, and then a black and green journal. Severus knew that Alex would figure things out—that the boy liked to be alone—but the bond was strange and Alex was constantly alone. “Please stay out of trouble. Goodnight, son.” 

Alex felt his father’s hand leave his shoulder, and watched him retreat up the stairs. The stone door clambered behind him, and in that second, Alex responded. “Goodnight.” 

He didn’t enjoy the bunking system, but Alex barely had a say in anything these days. His flatmates kept away from him, and they didn’t fall asleep until well after midnight. They had their own party on one side of the room, while Alex read on the other. Serpentine took a liking to the new bed and sprawled himself out next to Alex’s head. 

When they went to sleep, he followed after them. Alex knew that this year was going to be rough, but he hadn’t expected it to start so badly. 

And Salazar Slytherin stood by and watched. He and the Fates had planned so much for the boy, that not even the young man nor his peers were in store for what was to come…