Summer of '98

Wizards and demons inhabit parallel worlds, each with their own magical traditions. Unlike wizards, demons have never formed a government, nor regulated each other in any way, a state of affairs which has baffled many a wizarding leader. Voldemort, for example, before his first rise to power, saw demon anarchy as a power vacuum that needed to be filled.

He was wrong. To his immense frustration and embarrassment, Voldemort discovered that he had no way to bribe, blackmail, or force demons to do his bidding.

They laughed in his face when he described a world in which wizards and demons would rule over Muggles, because demons had already been deeply embedded in Muggle society for millennia, and they had long ago learned that governing Muggle lives was an immense waste of their time. They already had what they wanted from Muggles: lots and lots of their cash.

Voldemort wasn’t able to threaten demons with physical harm, either. They were hard to kill with wizarding magic, and they were capable of destroying entire groups of Death Eaters with a single ball of fire.

Despite these obstacles, Voldemort was determined to add demon power to his formidable arsenal of Dark magic, so he tried a different tactic. He sought out powerful demons who were known to study xenosorcery, and offered to share with them the wonders of Dark wizarding magic.

Voldemort’s demon-recruiting campaign had three consequences for the wizarding world, none of which turned out to be beneficial to him.

First, it opened the eyes of demons to the financial benefits of consorting with wizards, and they began to blend into wizarding communities, just as they had insinuated themselves into Muggle society.

Further, once demons had established business relationships with wizards, they protected those wizarding colleagues from Death Eater destruction.

But the consequence that had an impact on Hogwarts was that Voldemort inadvertently made British demons interested in sending their children there. This was easily accomplished, due to a very ancient oversight.

Unknown to Voldemort, and even to Albus Dumbledore himself, was a wrinkle in the Hogwarts invitation process. Invitation letters were not restricted to just one kind of magical child; demons received them as well as wizards. Whether this was by design, sabotage, or accident, it had been that way for centuries.

Before Voldemort started his recruitment campaign, British demon families had ignored the Hogwarts letters. They sent their children to pan-magical institutions, like the Academy of Magic schools in the States, where all manner of magical beings were educated together.

But once Voldemort got the demons thinking about how useful it might be for their children to be immersed in wizarding culture and magic, they started to accept, beginning with Octavius Flint and a few of his friends in 1979.

The demon students found they could blend in quite nicely by feigning an interest in wizarding matters and avoiding displays of demon magic. Since demons are fundamentally ambitious, conniving, and selfish, the main hallmarks of Slytherins, all of the Hogwarts demons were sorted into that House.

Demons might have attended Hogwarts in perpetuity if Severus Snape had not become somewhat of an expert on them. In 1978, Voldemort ordered Severus to accept a position as an instructor at Adjoua Serpentia’s Young Potioneers summer camp, located high in the piney forests of the Sierra Nevadas. The Dark Lord hoped to learn more about Sidney Serpentia, a demon so powerful that he had blasted Voldemort off his front doorstep and halfway around the globe.

Severus initially dreaded the assignment, and was surprised to enjoy the experience. Though Voldemort eventually decided that recruiting Sidney Serpentia was a lost cause, Severus returned to the camp each summer for thirteen years. He especially appreciated the Young Potioneers after he was compelled to teach at Hogwarts for Dumbledore. The campers were all eager to become Potion Masters, and they were far more serious and attentive in class than most of the Hogwarts students. Severus taught every sort of magical being, and became familiar with many American demon families.

Ironically, as a particularly negligent head of Slytherin, Severus didn’t notice any identifying characteristics in the many demons who were already at Hogwarts when he became their Head of House. However, he immediately recognized former Young Potioneer Asmodeus Serpentia when he transferred in as a fifth-year in 1986.

Astounded, Severus asked Dumbledore if it were really wise to accept demons into the school. Dumbledore was furious with himself for failing to realize that Asmodeus was not a wizard. Feeling that expelling Asmo would draw attention to his mistake, Dumbledore asked Severus to keep a close eye on the young demon to see if he exhibited any dangerous behaviors. That was when Snape finally identified several more demons in Slytherin House.

Severus was loathe to report his discovery to Dumbledore, because he didn’t want a mass expulsion of members from his own House — not to mention half his winning Quidditch team — but of course he couldn’t let the matter go. He told Dumbledore about the demons, adding his belief that they were not causing any trouble, and should be allowed to stay. His attitude caught Dumbledore by surprise.

“But it was you, Severus, who first came to me with fears that a single demon student was a danger to the school.”

“Yes, Dumbledore, but now we know that we have educated at least a dozen demons, and none of them have ever harmed their classmates, at least when there was no Bludger involvement. Unless you are concerned that Mr. Serpentia and his friends will knock too many Gryffindors off of their brooms….”

“I think it is you, Severus, who is putting Quidditch ahead of greater concerns.”

“I have no concerns about my students.”

“Perhaps this particular group is harmless, but we don’t know how they managed to receive invitations to Hogwarts. Do you want Hogwarts to be overrun with non-wizarding creatures, ones with a history of anarchy and violence?”

Severus had no argument for that, and he admitted it. “But let us first discover how these students obtained letters, and why, before we expel them. I remind you that, during the war, the demons sided with us against Voldemort.”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say they “sided” with us, but I take your point: they had no interest in conquering our world. You have more experience with these creatures than the rest of us; please start an investigation, but quietly! Tell only those whom absolutely need to know.”

Snape’s enquiries yielded no fruit; all the demons could tell him was that they had “always” received Hogwarts letters. It was Dumbledore, finally, who discovered and closed the invitation letter loophole. He decided that the current Hogwarts demons could remain, but once the last of these graduated there would be no more. He also amended the school charter to officially exclude non-wizarding students. Several years later, however, he was persuaded to make an exception.

In the spring of 1991, Dumbledore ordered Severus to resign his position as an instructor at the Young Potioneers camp. He wanted Severus in England throughout the year, ready to respond to any threat against Harry Potter, who was about to begin his first year at Hogwarts.

Adjoua Serpentia was very unhappy to lose such a valuable member of her staff, particularly since her own daughter was showing an extraordinary talent for potion-making. She declared that if Severus were stuck in England, then Serena would go to Hogwarts.

Adjoua was perplexed when Serena didn’t receive a Hogwarts invitation, because the Serpentias owned a home in Wiltshire and spent a fair amount of time there. She owled the school, and the Serpentias were angry when they read Dumbledore’s reply explaining Hogwarts’ wizards-only policy. They demanded a meeting with the headmaster. Dumbledore agreed, but only because he’d always wanted to meet a demon. He asked Severus to attend as well.

Dumbledore sat across the desk from a slender, dark-skinned, green-robed witch and her husband, a pale, greying, paunchy, bespectacled demon whom Dumbledore, to his great surprise, found indistinguishable from any wealthy Muggle.

The headmaster was calm as he responded to Dr. Serpentia’s arguments for Serena’s admission, which included his nephew’s academic achievements at the school.

“I’m sorry, Dr. and Mrs. Serpentia, but recent mistaken admissions notwithstanding, the Hogwarts charter is exclusively for the magical education of witches and wizards.”

“I am a witch!” declared Mrs. Serpentia. “The Kouassi’s are a very old wizarding family. And look at this!”

Adjoua waved her hand, and in it appeared a scroll of parchment, which she thrust at Dumbledore.

“This is the letter I received from Hogwarts when I was eleven. I received invitations from wizarding schools in every country where my family resides. My parents sent me to Beauxbâtons, but I could have been a student here.”

“I do realize you’re a witch, Madam,” said Dumbledore gravely, “but your daughter is half demon, and is therefore ineligible to attend.”

“That’s bullshit!” exclaimed Dr. Serpentia.

“I beg your pardon?” said Dumbledore sharply.

“It’s total hypocrisy! There’s plenty of non-wizards here! You can’t pretend that thestral-wrangler we saw on the way in is one hundred percent wizard!”

“And what about your tiny little charms professor?” demanded Mrs. Serpentia. “I remember him from the ’88 European invitationals. Part faerie, definitely!”

“My nephew told me your history professor is a ghost!”

“My friend Eileen says that your janitor is a Muggle!”

“And what about that werewolf student you had?”

Now Dumbledore was also angry. “I can assure you, sir, that Hogwarts has never had a….”

“Perhaps….” interrupted Severus rather loudly.

All eyes turned to him. He addressed Dumbledore.

“Perhaps we are losing sight of the opportunities presenting themselves here.”

Dumbledore looked resentful, but nevertheless he replied, “Opportunities, Professor Snape?”

“With Serena’s admission, we have the chance to foster international magical cooperation between Hogwarts and several communities in three countries.”

Severus hoped that Dumbledore would understand what he meant by emphasizing “communities,” and he did. So did Sidney Serpentia, who leaned back in his chair and suddenly looked far less like a mild-mannered Muggle as he said,

“Ten years go by so fast, don’t they?”

“What do you mean by that?” asked Dumbledore warily.

Dr. Serpentia spoke airily, but there was bite behind his words.

“Oh, I just happened to realize that you’re expecting a very special student this year, which means that it won’t be long before some of us start to receive some very special requests.”

He waved his hand just as his wife had, and in it appeared a parchment emblazoned with the skull and snake of the Death Eaters.

“We could share information about these requests, or we could just…”

He waved his hand and the parchment disappeared in a crackle of orange flame.

”…keep it to ourselves.”

Dumbledore looked murderous, but all he said was, “I have conditions.”

“Which are?”

“Your daughter will keep the lowest of profiles. She will not participate in any interscholastic activities or competitions. She will not be eligible for any intramural awards that would cause her name to be memorialized as a Hogwarts student. She will not remain in the castle during school vacations. She will not practice any demon magic in the school or on the grounds. Her teachers and fellow classmates will never know that she is half-demon. That secret will be kept between Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, and myself.

“Is this acceptable?”

Dr. Serpentia looked as though he disagreed, but Mrs. Serpentia said, “Yes. It is acceptable.”

“Adjoua, it’s an insult!”

Adjoua faced her husband and said firmly, “Serena is going to study advanced Potions with Severus Snape, and that is final.”

After a moment, Dr. Serpentia relaxed and said, “It’s just as well. It’s time she focused on school, and not what designer she’s wearing to the next party. She’s only eleven, for chrissake!”

Dumbledore looked unsure of what Dr. Serpentia meant, but he took the chance and said, “Then we are agreed?”

“Agreed,” said the Serpentias together.