Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. JK Rowling does.
Friday evening came faster than Severus Snape would have liked. From where he sat at dinner, he watched Lily leave the Gryffindor table, a messenger bag slung over one shoulder and a scowl on her face. Potter had been trying to talk to her for the whole meal, but she was studiously ignoring him and Severus guessed she had been doing so since they got into trouble. Lily could be very stubborn, something which made Severus want to smile at times and cry at others. As she reached the door, he saw her glance towards him, an unreadable expression on her face, and look away again, brushing her still singed fringe out of her eyes.
"Happy, Snivellus?" Black stepped in front of him, getting in the way of his view of Lily, wearing a twisted smile on his face, just so Severus knew he was really pissed off with him. "I should be chatting up that girl over there," he pointed angrily to a girl with light brown hair sitting at the Hufflepuff table, "but instead I have to spend the weekend with you while you perv out on James's girlfriend." Severus tried to stop his mouth dropping open but couldn't stop a slight gasp escaping. "That's right Snivellus, we all see it, how could we not notice the way you stalk her? Don't see why you bother, it's not like she'd like you anyway."
Severus jumped up, anger bubbling up inside him like he was going to explode. He wanted to punch him, to curse him, to shove the chicken on the table down his throat, anything to get him to shut up. Black had no right to talk about Lily - it was only last year that she stopped hating those arses that walked around the school like they owned the place, they barely even knew her! Severus knew her and she knew him and she liked him! Black had no idea what he was talking about! But for whatever reason, he couldn't get the words out of his mouth and Black started laughing and walked away, sticking out a certain finger at Severus over his shoulder as he went. This was going to be a nightmare.
"Problem, Severus?" Narcissa Black, the blond sixth year Slytherin raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him.
"No," Severus growled back, sitting down again and pushing the potato on his plate around with a fork. Narcissa pursed her lips and tilted her head, staring at him for a moment.
"Problem, Narcissa?" he snapped at her. She narrowed her eyes and slid up the table to sit opposite Severus.
"Have you been talking to Lucius recently?" a small sparkle appeared in her eyes when she said his name. "You too are still friends aren't you?"
"Yes," Severus replied, glaring over his food at Narcissa. Did this girl not realise 1) that he was upset, 2) he was trying to finish his food before he embarked on what is bound to be the worst weekend of his life and 3) that he was not a matchmaker? He knew Narcissa loved Lucius - they had dated before Lucius graduated, but a lot of girls loved Lucius and Lucius loved a lot of girls. Though he would never admit it, Severus liked Narcissa. She was unusually un-Slytherin-like. She was generally a kind, patient, generous girl as well as being intelligent and hardworking. She was nothing like her cousin, and not all that much like her older sister. She could be a pain - stubborn and feisty, Severus often chose to keep away from her when she didn't look happy. But what he really liked about her, and what he would never admit, is that she reminded him of Lily.
"How is he? Has he asked about me?" Narcissa's face always became more alive when she talked about Lucius and to be honest it made him sad. Narcissa reminded him of Lily in personality, but the way she talked about the person she loved reminded him of himself. Lucius was a player and unless he changed his ways, Narcissa's love was going to be as unrequited as his was.
"He's fine," Severus sighed, giving up on eating because his stomach was twisting too much at the thought of the experiment to keep food down anyway. "Said he was missing you," a small lie to make her feel better. "He's working at the Ministry, I don't know if he told you that." And he's a part-time Death Eater, Severus thought to himself.
"He's really missing me?"
"Terribly."
"Good."
"Have to go now."
"What? But you have to tell me about Lucius!"
"Write to him, I have detention," Severus grabbed his bag and quickly walked away from the table, wishing Narcissa wasn't so determined to make him matchmaker. He looked at his watch as he left the Hall. Quarter past seven. He guessed it was time to run to his dormitory to pack a bag and get up to Dumbledore's office. He walked slowly, dragging his feet and hoping that if he took long enough getting to the Headmaster's office they would move on without him.
They didn't.
It turned out even though Severus had taken his time, he arrived at the Headmaster's office quite early. The door of the office opened as he was about to knock and he was greeted by the sight of Lily and Lupin, sitting in chairs in the corner and talking quietly to each other, McGonagall pacing behind the desk and Dumbledore himself standing beside a cabinet, gazing at the silver trinkets inside. He turned as Severus entered and smiled.
"Ah, Mr. Snape, good. Please place your bag on my desk and Professor McGonagall will transfigure it to a size that will be a bit more suitable for you," Dumbledore gestured to his desk and as Severus walked closer he saw two tiny rucksacks, no bigger than a yo-yo, one a bright green and the other dirty and grey laid beside something that was covered by a sheet.
Severus put his bag down and sat in a seat further away from the others - but still, if the seats were pushed together he would be sat next to Lily. Lupin glanced up and him quickly and back at his feet again. Lily looked at him, staring him in the eye for Severus didn't know how long, her lips tight. Say something, he thought, and he opened his mouth, not knowing what was going to come out but just knowing that he had to say something, and he took a deep breath and -
And the door crashed open, and the moment was lost because Lily had looked away and it was too late. James Potter was lying on the floor, face being pressed into the carpet by Black's arse. Pettigrew's neck was tangled up in Potter's legs and all three of them looked fairly pleased with themselves.
"Gentlemen," Dumbledore smiled at the same time that McGonagall snapped, "Get up this instant!"
"Do I want to know how you got into the position you are in or would it be more decent to let it remain a mystery?" Dumbledore peered over his glasses at the group. Severus rolled his eyes. Here would come one of Black's ridiculous stories that by tomorrow everyone would have heard about and be applauding him for. A muffled "Fnnrghh!" came from under Black.
"I believe James wants to explain this one," Sirius grinned, jumping up and pulling Peter out of James's legs. James raised his head and blurted out, "Can't! Breathe!" before pushing himself onto his knees and off the floor.
"I don't even know what happened," James mumbled, rubbing the back of his head and shooting a dirty look at Sirius. Peter smiled sheepishly and picked up his bag. Sirius whistled and looked away innocently into the distance.
"Mr. Black?" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows.
"Hmm?" Sirius turned back slowly, an expression of fake surprise on his face, his mouth set in an 'Oh me?' sort of way. "Yes Professor?" McGonagall rolled her eyes and waved her wand at Peter's bag, making him jump when he shrunk down and dropped from his hand. Dumbledore nodded to James, who was picking up his and Sirius's bags and putting them on the desk.
"Oh, yeah well, he had a spider on his forehead. And I'm scared of spiders," Sirius shrugged. "Seemed like the best way to kill it. Peter was in the way. I've been practising my high-jump since we last spoke, as I'm sure you remember the results of my last attempt, but it still needs a bit of improvement. I took down Peter with me on the way to James."
"Yes, well, let's not discuss it now, shall we?" McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, if you would please put your bags on the table and we can get on with this." James wrenched his bag out of Sirius's hand, who had picked both bags up and was giving James apologetic, puppy-dog eyes.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, pouting and shuffling after James.
Sirius and James put their bags on the desk, where McGonagall quickly transfigured them. Sirius coughed loudly and raised his hand. "Professor, may I ask what is under the sheet?" He pointed at the bulky sheet-covered thing on Dumledore's desk.
"Ah, yes," Dumbledore smiled broadly and strode over to his desk. "This, everyone, is your accomodation for the duration of the experiment. If you would like to gather round," Dumbledore waved them over. Remus left his chair hesitantly, wishing this was just a dream and he wasn't seeing what he was about to see. Lily jumped put of her seat, pushing her way in front of Sirius and pulling her hand out of James's when he took it.
Dumbledore pulled the sheet away and there was an audible intake of breath from all in the room. A dolls house sat on the desk - only it wasn't a normal dolls house. It was bigger than most dolls houses and was three stories high. Dumbledore's lip turned up at the corner and he lifted a latch at the side of the house. The house split in half and opened up so they could see the whole house.
The ground floor consisted of a kitchen full of walnut cupboards and two dining tables, one covered in a red and gold cloth and the other in silver and green, a fridge fitted into the corner and a tiny stove and sink in between the fridge and cupboards. Adjacent to the little kitchen was a common room of sorts, decorated with both Gryffindor and Slytherin hangings. A fireplace lay against one wall in front of black velvet couches. Bookcases and portraits and shelves full of things that were too small to see lined the walls. A set up stairs led to a landing on the first floor, where there was a door and another staircase. The door led to a dormitory with five beds and an ensuite. Four out of the five beds had a Gryffindor bedspread, while the bed lying in the middle of the room was wrapped in a Slytherin duvet. The second floor also had one dormitory and a bathroom, but this dormitory contained only one bed, a bed that would be king-sized were it a real house and that too was decorated in scarlet and gold.
"Yes, my own room!" Sirius fist-pumped to himself.
"No," McGonagall said sharply. "Ms Evans is in that room. You boys will be sharing."
"How come she gets a double bed?" Peter whined.
"There is space in Ms. Evans's room for a double bed," McGonagall shrugged, but she smiled slightly at Lily. Lily shot her an appreciative smile back.
"Now, you'll find your list on the table in the house. There are three moleskin bags there too, so it would be a good idea to put the items from the list into the bags to keep them safe," Dumbledore pointed to the tiny table as he spoke. "I would suggest you find them all as soon as possible because otherwise you will be required to return every weekend until you find them. You will be transfigured back at this time on Sunday evening. Remember, the only way this will work is if you all work together. Please line up beside the door."
The group filed into line, each dreading the experiment for different reasons. Severus because he would have to spend the weekened with people who hated him and whom he hated. James and Sirius because they would have to put up with Snivellus all weekend - if it wasn't for him the experiment might have even been fun. Lily couldn't stand the thought of spending a weekend running around the school looking for stupid little trinkets. Peter knew he couldn't get it right and he didn't even know what he was going to contribute. Remus just had no idea what was going to happen, and that scared the shit out of him. This was going to be a nightmare.
"The house will be situated in the back left corner of Trophy Room. The same curfews apply to you as to the rest of the school," McGonagall warned. "There is an alarm on the door of the house. If you leave after curfew we will be able to tell and there will be severe punishment. And besides," she allowed herself a small smirk, "exactly how far could you get at the size you'll be?"
Professor McGonagall raised her wand and looked at Dumbledore. "That's all, isn't it Albus?" Dumbledore nodded happily, seemingly barely even listening. McGonagall smiled at the students. "See you Sunday," were the last words they heard before a flash of yellow light blinded them.
A/N: So sorry it took so long to update, I know I said I'd try for a week but I just couldn't think of anything to write and I'd really rather take my time writing it than rushing out something I'm really not happy with. I know this chapter was short but I promise they will get longer - this chapter would have been longer because I originally had a much longer conversation between Severus and Narcissa which I loved. I took a long time deciding whether to keep it or not but eventually decided it didn't fit well. I might upload it in a seperate story another time. I hope you like my Narcissa, I took a lot of time thinking about her life and what she was going through at the time. It doesn't really show in this story though : (
Also, I know some of the ages are a bit off but, y'know...artistic lisence : )
Hopefully I'll update sooner next time but I can't make any promises.
Please review!
Ellen xx
