Class let out early. It always did when they had a substitute teacher. Today, however, the sub had been given specific instructions on how to deal with the usually unruly, sometimes violent class.
The first two houses to get out of hand were to be assigned partners. "Mr. Slug-up-the-ass" as he was affectionately termed by many of his students, and even some from his own house, had already known who would misbehave. It would be Slytherin and Gryffindor. In his head he would have reversed it because, of course, as the Head of House of Slytherin it would be blamed on the lions whether they did anything or not. These were the tough cases, the houses whose hatred went back to the founding of Hogwarts when Salazar had chosen a darker way.
These two houses had partners already chosen, meant for learning and character building, but truly Professor Slughorn liked to make the little devil spawn suffer as much as possible. Instead of being mature and responsible, instead of acting as a teacher and trying to resolve the conflict, he tried his hardest to escalate the hatred at all costs. He picked people who spanned the gambit of both skill and merit as a person, potions student, and wizard. These partners would be paired all year, sharing grades on projects, potions, class work and tests.
The catalyst had been, inevitably, Sirius Black.
When a cloud of black sulfurous smoke erupted form the cauldron of a Slytherin James and Peter erupted into a raucous laughter. A sandy blonde that sat with these hooligans looked disappointed to say the least. No matter how hard he tried to keep them in line, nothing ever affected their crass behavior. They had long outgrew the angry stare, although, pitifully enough, counting back from three sometimes worked. In spite of his love of them as people, he didn't appreciate their stance on inter-house friendships, and was horrified by the fact that they felt that to be seen with a snake and not be planning to kill it was a mortal sin.
This one Slytherin was worse than others as far as the Three Gryffindor Amigos were concerned. He was their resident punching bag, a fact that disgusted Remus Lupin to unimaginable levels. This poor unfortunate soul that was being ostracized by the lions was the resident slimy git, good ole" Snivellus.
The potion had coated him in a bright green and everyone but four students in red and Severus himself were terribly concerned. The Marauders, sans Remus, didn't care because these were the three immature Gryffindors who had never been forced to grow up. They were known for their lack of positive emotions for anyone in green and silver, and more than hate for this specific dungeon bat. Said dungeon bat and Lupin were unconcerned because they both knew the potion was harmless.
If made incorrectly this potion could be deadly, especially with this much skin covered in the goopy concoction. Severus Snape and Remus Lupin were tied for the best potion maker in their year and, most times, were more able than the Teacher to brew potions of this complexity, so neither feared that Severus had made a mistake, and certainly not one egregious enough to be deadly. They were both sure that he would be fine, sticky, green, and angry, but unharmed.
This had lead to partners. The Slytherins retaliated verbally, enough to tell the sub to enact the plan. A plan that, had they known would be set in action, would have in itself been enough to stop the behavior. A plan to be avoided at all costs.
This was an advanced potions class with 6th and 7th years. This fact made partners harder, or easier if you chose to simply view Slughorn as a sadist. To truly ruin their lives some had to be switched within years as well.
The list of people started with non-important students. Once the first pair with a Marauder in it was called, "Sirius Black and Lucius Malfoy," there was an uproar, with hissing and booing. James even let a low cat-call slip before remembering Sirius sat right next to him. James earned a well placed elbow shot right to his thigh, just close enough to cause pause. Everyone in the class found it funny that the Slytherin 7th year man whore ended up partnered with the 6th year that could be the Gryffindors' answer to the blond headed, silver and green stud.
A few more pairs were called once the anger calmed down from the first really controversial partnership. The next partners did not gain cat-calls but did conjure the same hissing and boos. "James Potter and Rodulphus Lestrange," was only surprising because Rodulphus, though older, was a push over and with James' outlandish personality that would be a straight up hands down win for the brave, courageous, uncontrollable lions.
This was quickly repaired as "Peter Pettigrew,' was paired with "Bellatrix Black," which was another obvious win, only this time for the silver and green team. It was down to Lupin to decide because Sirius and Malfoy counted as a tie to everyone watching including themselves. That's a lot of pressure for a book worm of sixteen. This was always treated as a battle of good versus evil, like the war that all educated, informed students knew was taking place outside the safe walls of Hogwarts was also occurring in every classroom school wide. That is one way the Marauders justify what they did in their own consciences. Every time they put down a Slytherin they were fighting the war.
The next pair was a shock merely because it was another tie. "Remus Lupin, Severus Snape."
And so now all Gryffindors and Slytherins were retreating to their respective wings of the school to plan for the battle that was undeniably brewing behind this partner concept. They began planning in Gryffindor tower, or meant to, but as it was just the Marauders who saw it as a fight, and the Marauders were known for their lack of attentiveness until an actual prank was in play, planning wasn't being done.
"That fat slug," screamed Sirius. "I want to pour salt on him and watch him burn." No one blinked an eye at the cruelty. After a while, one gets used to Black's hidden cruelty, and, with his dark family, cruelty is better than most of what he could have inherited.
"That seems pretentious. It's the third week of school," remarked James.
Pettigrew saw his chance to fit it, and he always took a chance to fit in. He screamed, "he has no right," at the top of his lungs. It was desperate to others. The noble Gryffindors across the room were repulsed by the actions that were condoned in this group. James and Sirius loved the attention though, the stroke being appreciated by their already swollen egos.
"Calm down," Lupin, once again the voice of reason. "He can and has, we just need to," he was going to say something along the lines of survive when Sirius decided his ending would be better. "We need to get him back or suck it up."
Peter was all for either of the leaders suggestions, and interjected his own idea. "We should get the Slytherins to aid us in orchestrating his down fall." Everyone paused to stare at the pudgy rat, each with a different cruel comment to make.
"Do you even know what those words mean?" was Remus' comment, not biting because he was truly curious as to Peter's literacy.
"We hate them," James pointed out, also lacking vitriol.
"He is their head of house, dumb ass." Sirius never lacked spite and anger. Usually in high enough doses that just him walking down to breakfast was enough to make some first years run like hell itself was right behind them.
"Be nice Siri. You're the reason that we're in this mess to begin with." Lupin was sick of being the voice of reason and as the second statement began to sink in his voice began to modulate to the more guttural snarl of Mooney, the wolf that hides inside this thin brainiac.
"Rem, I wouldn't point fingers," Sirius decided to respond to the inner wolf calmly. "We all know he deserves it."
"How?" The wolf was getting more frustrated, sick of the little injustices in the world. The injustices that mostly came from this group.
"How what?"
"How did he deserve it?" asked Lupin, regaining control from Mooney, but still interested to know the answer. "What did he do exactly? What did he do to you other than exist?" That one struck at everyone of their heart strings because they all know that Remus felt he shouldn't exist.
Sirius had to tread carefully. He walked over to Lupin and took his hand, leading him to the dorm room so that they could go into the real issues at hand. Once inside the room and under strong silencing spells the conversation continued. "He is trying to expose you. Not on purpose. He doesn't know what he'll find out about, but we have got to stop him." James nodded along with what Sirius was saying. Peter looked so much more lost than normal, which was saying something.
"Rem, you know we all love you. I know it is hard, with all of the unfairness that you deal with on a daily basis, but he would expose you. He wouldn't have a problem with exposing you. You are too good to worry about him because he wouldn't worry about you if the roles were reversed." James gave Rem a hug, trying to squeeze the tears back into his eyes.
"Fine," was all Remus could say. He knew they were right. He knew they cared. But what they were doing wasn't right. He needed to think.
Snape would expose him. That was a big risk. Werewolves were hated at best and hunted at worst. He decided to take a walk to his little rock on the side of the lake. As he walked he pondered the enigma that was Severus Snape. He hated the Marauders and would do anything to destroy them, and yet he always seemed shocked when they came after him. Remus wasn't convinced he was cruel, though, just misunderstood. Life had been tough to poor Severus Snape, and the unfair precedent that the Marauders got over him only exacerbated the flaws in his already fractured psyche. He tried to be like everyone else and failed, mostly due to the Marauders' antics.
Remus settled into his spot by the lake, the same place he went every time he needed a break from the monotonous, cultureless drivel spewed forth by his best friends.
The sun was setting on a hard day of trying to reason with his pig-headed cohorts. It was times like these that he had a hard time remembering why he stayed with them. Then he viewed the purple sky, the streaks of red, and, in the far corner of his vision, the moon. Just a crescent, nearly non-existent, but to one so attuned to it, it stood out like a Slytherin in a sea of Gryffindor. He loved the guys. He really did but they were malicious. They picked Snape because he was weak and wounded. He had been abandoned by his guardian angel. Anyone could see that what ever figure protected the other students it had either missed or sacrificed him.
Remus understood that, could comprehend being left to be, to make it on your own merit. He had been. Fate had shown him a cold shoulder, turned him out to freeze.
He had been bitten as a child He was a werewolf from childhood. A teenage werewolf in a culture that saw werewolves as beasts, as if being a teenager, fitting in as an awkward teenager wasn't hard enough. He didn't need to add onto that the fact that he was a sub-human life form.
Snape might not know it but Remus tried to protect him as best he could. He would sway the group from the more dangerous and unnecessarily hurtful plans.
Snape would be dead if it were not for Lupin. One day, Sirius had decided that the acromantula was lonely and tricked "Snivelly" into the woods looking for mushrooms for a potion. Lupin had called to him, pretending to be McGonagall. Snape had run. He had been pissed, but alive.
The Black Lake was causing sparkles, glittering rays of reflected and refracted sunlight scattered across the school grounds. The lapping on the beach should have been relaxing, calming waves against gravel. Yet all he could think of was erosion. How his life was being eroded away by the stress of Dumbledore asking him to manage the unruly Gryffindors who had originally been brought together to watch him. Watching Snape bullied and doing nothing.
His conscience was angry. No, not angry, livid. How dare he let any being suffer? If it was within his power to stop it, why didn't he? Was it within his power?
He closed his eyes, trying to drown his misery in imaginary music. He was sick of hearing or thinking. He was a wizard and if he wanted to blast punk rock then he damn well would blast punk rock.
He pulled out his wand and conjured a little tape player. With magic he didn't need tapes or power and soon all he could hear was a loud angry, angst riddled female screaming about how much her parents made her mad. He wouldn't admit it, but he was a fan of the whinging, and loud drum solos. Sometimes he would wonder if he was really just one teenager or many split personalities. He loved to study and read. He loved a good Beethoven or Mozart and a good book. He liked to organize and keep everything in its clear concise position. He liked to pull pranks and stare at a wall for hours because he didn't want to get out of bed to get the homework that was due in less than ten hours. He liked to listen to teenagers complain about everyday problems so he understood what upsets the regular people his age.
He didn't want to worry about love or hormones. He did prefer Sirius' way with women to James and Peter. They would go on and on about how "it broke my heart, the thought of her, my angel kept from heaven." Sirius was straightforward. He didn't care who. Gender meant nothing. He picked the best specimens and walked around with them till he got bored with them. He could have fucked them, anyone of them, but he wanted it to be special, his first time. He didn't expect magic or love, just meaning.
James had been hung up on the same girl since first year. Lily Evans had spent much time politely telling James to back off. That brought up another reason that the cluster hated Snape. He was a good friend of Lily's. Lily was in their potions class. She hadn't been paired though, both because she had been absent and Horace considered her among his favorite students ever.
Class would be hard. It was always hard to keep them on track and in line in classes with the snakes, yet now that Siri blamed Snape for being assigned a snake for the rest of the year it would be impossible to help anything from across the class room. They often forgot who started the fights. The disagreements always ended up being the other guys fault, almost always Snape's.
Remus decided to return to the castle. He was safe out at night and no teacher would bother him, but he wanted to go check a book out of the library and then check and see how much progress the boys had made on their work. The homework which should be finished, but won't be.
He was so distracted by his moral conundrum that he failed to notice that a shadow a few clumps of trees down the shore had turned to see him leave.
He also didn't notice that this figure was remarkably similar to the center of his drama.