Culture Clash

November 1993, Harry Potter’s third year at Hogwarts

Harry wondered about the unusually grave faces of the Weasley twins. They were behaving odd since last Thursday, sitting together talking quietly, pulling numerous books from the Defence section of the library, especially those with gruesome illustrations of demons and similar creatures.
In a quiet moment in the common room when nobody was paying them any attention he asked them about it. Fred (or was it George) was about to answer when his twin kicked his shin.

„You’ve got enough on your plate, mate.“

„Come on folks, I worry already, you can tell me!“

They seemed to communicate silently, but eventually one agreed.

„All right, we will tell you. Let’s find an unused classroom.“

The three boys proceeded in what they thought an unobtrusive manner through the fifth floor corridor. If a certain Potions master would have encountered them he would undoubtedly had thought they were up to no good. Near the west corner of the tower George opened a door with a simple Alohomora and ushered the others in. The classroom sported a mirrored wall, an old-fashioned gramophone and set tables with tea and dinnerware.

„Mum told us about this room. In her time at Hogwarts it was used for etiquette-classes.“

They sat down on dainty looking chairs grouped around a low table. Harry had worried all the way here about what could be worse than the murderer Sirius Black and queried, „So what is all this about? Spill it!“

„Right, you are a big third-year and you asked for it. Did you know that old Snape lets us use a side room to his classroom for experiments?“

Harry shook his head.

„Well, yes, he does.“

„And he isn’t half bad about it - “

„ – And even gives us ingredients we might need -“

„ – But we have an agreement that we tell him what we plan to do - “

„ – Because he said that he’d rather face a mating manticore than our Mum if we blow ourselves up.“

„Only sometimes we have an idea and he’s nowhere to be found and -“

„ – Then we start on our own. It is not that bad, really, we are two - “

„ – And one of us is always ready to put up a shield charm if the potion turns nasty.“

The younger boy could scarcely comprehend what he learned. Snape, the bane of his existence, taking time to help the twins? The same Snape who always favoured Slytherin and never seemed to award any other house a point? He said as much.

George shook his head adamantly.

„You’ve got that wrong, really. He is strict in the classroom, but he was never as bad as Ron and you tell us now. And he awards points to Gryffindor. If we invent a potion without any explosions we get eight points - “

„ – For each of us!“

„ So last Wednesday he caught us brewing unsupervised and nearly blew a gasket - “

„ – Because our potion was about to emit colour- and odourless toxic fumes, a fact - “

„ – We did not take into account because someone rather tried to chat up Angelina than complete his research.“

„She agreed to go to Hogsmeade with me!“

„Hogsmeade would have been cancelled if we had killed ourselves with that potion! Anyway, we got detention on Thursday where there were about fifty cauldrons to be cleaned - “

„ – Without magic! And amongst the rags for scrubbing we - “

„ – Found this!“

Fred presented a dark rag, about fifteen inches square. It seemed to be cut from a Muggle t-shirt made from black jersey, with an imprint on the front. The image was faded and nearly impossible to make out. Harry had an inkling what it might mean but choose not to let the twins off the hook.

„An old T-shirt?“

„If only! Can’t you see what was on there! Demons with horns, impossibly long
tongues - “

„ – Gruesome runes painted on their faces!“

Fred (or George) seemed really dispirited.

„We know he picks on you, but we really thought old Snape was all right. We know - “

„ – There are all kind of unsavy rumours about him being a follower of You-know-who
But -“

„ – We tell ourselves that if Dumbledore trusts him and - “

„ – Mum bakes him treacle fudge for his birthday they’re just rumours.“

Harry stored that titbit about Snape, Molly and Voldmort away for later inspection and tried to make sense of their ramblings.

„So you fear that, despite the headmaster and your mum, and Snape being decent about your extracurricular brewing, he is a secret demon worshipper?“

„Well, put like this. But you have to admit the demons on this patch look scary.“

„Even scarier than these Sirius Black – posters!“

„Yes, they look scary. Guys, don’t worry, they are no demons, they’re just Muggles with a lot of make-up.“

„Now you’re having us on!“

„I am not, please believe me. This patch is from an old T-shirt, printed with a record cover of an album by the band Kiss . The play hard rock, one of their songs was even covered by the Banshee Bollocks .“

„Hm.“

Both of the twins looked still doubtful, therefore Harry resolved to show them the new T-shirt he meant to order via Hermione’s parents before giving it to Snape for Christmas.
The man couldn’t be totally bad if he had once owned such an item.


The End