(A/N: Sorry for having been gone for so long. I know that it wasn't the normal huge wait that you folks have to deal with from me, but I am still sorry. There isn't anything different in the warnings for this chapter. There is some boy/boy snuggling, but seriously, if you can't handle that then I don't know what to do with the world. Anyway, this chapter is still a bit slow, but I am pretty sure that as of next chapter, things start picking up. On with the show!)

Chapter 17—Dinnertime Discussions

Eric accompanied his younger siblings to dinner that night, after he had checked over their placement assignments and assured himself that, yes, his little brother and sisters were well suited to their house. He was also certain that they were going to be placed in higher level classes than many other kids in their year. If nothing else, their Uncle Severus was going to be proud of them.

Anne walked beside him, sticking her feet out dramatically in front of her as she stepped, pretending that she was a giant, stomping on pumpkin fields. The little bear that was Harry, sat tucked inside of her robes, its startling green eyes peeping over her collar. Just behind him, holding Hermione's shaking hand, Harry walked with his own blanket draped around his shoulders under his robe. The fact that Hermione was so shaky had nothing to do with the cold or fear, she was nursing a migraine that a headache potion hadn't been able to tame, after having flipped through one too many books in the Ravenclaw library.

The headache was no problem, Hermione had assured them that she would be able to eat dinner, and Eric knew that Uncle Severus would have a stronger dose of headache potion that any student would be allowed to possess privately. Still, even with the pain, and the admittedly tense atmosphere that had come with watching out for Dumbledore's manipulations, the kids seemed to be overjoyed to be at Hogwarts.

It had been somewhat the same for Eric. Knowing that magic existed, and seeing a place that it had built were two entirely different things. All of them had stared in awe when they'd first gone to Diagon Alley, and he didn't know anyone that wasn't occasionally floored by the sheer arcane force that held the castle together. He couldn't wait until one of them got into their first argument with a suit of armor. Those were always priceless.

"Eric? Why don't other kids sit with their siblings?" Harry asked, looking around at the various groups that occupied the House tables. The Weasley family seemed to be the only ones that weren't dispersed, except of course for terrified little Ron at the Slytherin table. Harry could see a blonde boy sitting beside him, trying to reassure the redhead, a firm hand on his shoulder, sympathy evident in his thoughts.

"When you get to Hogwarts you make friends, and your friends become your family. You usually only see the younger students, First Years and Second Years mostly, sitting with their siblings for a sense of guidance. Don't think they don't like each other, or that they never talk, it just works that way," Eric said, leaning over to grab a biscuit from a nearby platter. As much as they had eaten when they lived at home with Uncle Severus, there was something about Hogwarts that encouraged them to eat a bit more. Eric suspected that it was the House Elf magic in the food.

"Will you ever want us to stop sitting with you?" Hermione asked, spooning her soup around in the bowl as she looked up at him in concern. Eric smiled, feeling even more like the big brother that he was to them all.

"No. But you might want to stop sitting with me and that is okay too. I am a Fifth Year, you know, I might not be here long enough for you to want to leave me alone. And," he lowered his voice several octaves, "You know that we might not be here even that long," he said, earning nods of acknowledgement, though he knew that all of them had their fears about separation and that he was never going to be done allaying them. He looked toward the Gryffindor table and sighed, if he left Hogwarts, the situation with Percy was going to become complicated, but he was willing to deal with it in time.

"I'll never want to stop sitting with you Eric," Anne said, seeming proud as she puffed up slightly. She didn't yet have a concept of people growing up or having families of their own. Part of him figured that it had everything to do with Uncle Severus still living with their Grandparents. He just didn't know how to explain that some things were a matter of convenience rather than a need for closeness.

"Well you don't have to for a long time. Now, is everyone finished with their dinner?" Eric asked, glancing around at the kids surrounding him. Hermione presented him with her empty bowl, Harry with a few crumbs and a scrap of gristle, Anne however, still had a small pile of potatoes on her plate. Eric raised an eyebrow at her expectantly and she blushed. It had taken some time to get used to the 'clear your plate' rule at Spinner's End, but she should have known that it would still apply at Hogwarts. Looking guilty she scarfed the last few bites and finished off her milk.

"Sorry. You know I get a bit full sometimes," she said and took Harry's offered hand for help getting up from the bench. Eric ruffled her hair as he stood, lifting Hermione to sit on his hip as her headache was making her head droop. She was a bit big, and Eric a bit small, but he was strong enough to make it work, and didn't mind the weight of the younger girl in the least.

"I know. But we are going to see Uncle Severus. He would have noticed. I might let you get away with it sometimes, but I am certainly not going to allow you to do so when we are going to see him," Eric said, watching in amusement as all three children flinched away from the newly appeared desert dishes. Before long they would learn to budget their stomach space so that they could eat the luscious treats that they House Elves put together, but it had taken Eric a few weeks, and continued to do so at the start of each year. He herded the kids in the direction of Ravenclaw Tower before slipping into a hidden passage that led toward the dungeons.

They could hear the sounds of other kids, likely Slytherin students, returning from dinner, in the corridor that ran parallel to the secret passage they were in. Harry's face was an ever shifting mask as he picked up on the emotions of passing students. He knew when Ron walked past as a sense of painful sorrow filled his chest, and yet the sensation was tainted with a more shallow sense of anger and fierce loyalty.

"Here's Uncle Severus's door," Eric said quietly. They had emerged from the secret passage behind a dusty antique mirror, and directly across from it was a tapestry that depicted the Slytherin family tree. Eric calmly stepped forward and with his index finger, traced a seemingly random path through the names as they branched downward. The tapestry billowed slightly and slid up the wall, revealing a mahogany door with a tarnished brass handle. Eric rested his hand on the handle for a moment and it shifted to show itself as silver, clearly the indication of an unlocking spell as he was then able to pull it open.

"How will we know how to get in?" Anne asked quietly, she had been unable to see what Eric had done, at least, not exactly. He smiled slightly and flopped back onto a well-loved couch. The room looked like it had been copied from the cozy confines of Spinner's end, except for the obvious lack of muggle devices. In their places Severus had his much larger fireplace, several shelves of potions books, and a collection of antique potions vials. None of them could resist the temptation to snuggle on the couch where Severus had obviously left their favorite afghans from home.

"Only Uncle Severus knows how to get in, and only he can tell you. Unless you are a Prefect, of course, but they can only get in if the Professor is here. Don't worry, I know that he won't mind telling you," Eric said, getting to his feet when he heard a knock outside of the door. He ushered Percy in so that they could all wait for the Professor to return. Hermione with her head aching the way it had been was already sleeping on Harry's chest, and Anne was quietly manipulating a puzzle box that Severus had left on his coffee table. Eric had no qualms about snuggling into Percy and covering them both with his cozy blanket. Uncle Severus was usually one of the last Professors to leave dinner, suspicious as he was of his Slytherin students eating habits.

(A/N: Well, I hope that you all liked it. I know that you want more, and I want to type more as well. But the discussion that needs to be had is big enough that I didn't want to stuff it in here. That would have been a massive chapter, and my computer would have protested when I tried to upload it. The thing gets angry about the strangest things. Anyway, I won't make any promises about the ETA of next chapter. But I have hope that it will be soon. Leave a review please!)