Chapter 3: The Morning After
A/N: Computer buggered up. Big time. Sorry. Continue. Enjoy. Review. :D.
There was no way. There was no way. There way no way. Severus Snape kept silently chanting this mantra to himself as he carefully watched a fifth year Gryffindor pour the wrong amount of boomslang skin into their potion, causing it to spit and splutter everywhere. The way his day was going, he would defiantly have a headache by the end of it.
The fact that he was in denial did not help matters. There was no way that the boy Snape had meet merely hours ago could be Harry Potter. There was no way, Severus Snape told himself firmly, that Lily Potter's son had spoken to him. But there was that little voice in the back of Snape's head, that annoying one, telling him to remember the boys eyes. It wasn't hard- they were exactly the same as Lily's. Lily's eyes.
Lily…The twenty-two year old Severus Snape took a long drag of the cigarette dangling carelessly from his fingertips and wrapped the scarf more firmly around his neck. This was just like Lily. Never on time. Never.
Severus took a moment to take in the sight surrounding him; it really was a beautiful winters day. The post-Christmas frost has still yet to lift, meaning the park the two of them met at frequently was all but deserted. Deep tracks were well worn into the powdered snow; a dog's bark could be echoed eerily up from the alley the park backed onto, piercing the cold night air; and misty breaths rose into the moonlit sky.
"Smoking'll kill you, ya' know." said a playful voice from behind him. Snape turned to see the vibrant red hair, and shining, emerald eyes that he'd come accustom to after all his years at Hogwarts.
"All a part of my charm." The Slytherin said, tossing the still smoking butt onto the ground and snuffing it out with the heel of his leather clad foot.
"I'm sure it is." Lily laughed, wrapping her arms around Severus, "How you been, Sev?"
Severus raised an eyebrow at the use of his 'nickname', "Good…" and politely asked the same question, a smirk spreading across his face as he brushed an amber strand from hair from her eyes.
"Severus…" Lily said, taking a step back as Severus watched her vibrant eyes cloud over, "We… We can't meet up like this anymore."
"What? Why?" Severus sneered, putting enough cutting edge into his voice to make Lily wince.
"I–I just can't." Lily faulted, looking around anxiously and flexing her hands.
"Lily!" Severus interrupted her restless state, taking hold of her jaw and pulling it up so she was facing him.
Lily looked up at him with widened eyes, her hands dropping to her sides.
Snapes hand relaxed and he stroked his finger softly across her cheeks, feeling her hot breath ghost over his hand, and rising into the sky above them. Tilting her chin upwards, Severus leaned in.
"I'm pregnant." Lily confessed, squeezing her eyes shut apprehensively.
Snapes eyes snapped sharply.
"Severus, I–"
Severus' face darkened as he turned away from her.
"Please, Sev–" Lily pleaded, her voice cracking as she took a step towards him, but he was already half way across park, rummaging in his long, leather jacket for his cigarette pack and lighter. "Sev!"
It had been the last time Severus had seen Lily alive. A year and some months later he had wept over her dead body, overcome with every emotion as he stared into her lifeless green eyes, and touched her cold, pale lips.
The bell sounding for the end of class awoke Snape from his melancholy musings.
SOME TIME EARILER...
Blaise woke slowly, the odd sensation of something wet and slobbery on his face. Cracking open an eye, the dark Slytherin saw his best mate Theo was sleeping about on top of him, drool leaking steadily out onto Blaise's face. Blaise groaned, pushing Theo away, who just kept on snoring.
Man, what a sight…Beside him, Daphne Greengrass was groaning, clutching her head, seemingly oblivious to the fact that, not only was she sans a majority of her clothes, but she was lying on top of a short-less Gregory Goyle.
Blaise chuckled and almost immediately regretted it. Sure, Slytherin parties were always the best, but damn did it hurt the next morning.
Blaise got up and studied his surroundings. Bottles, both empty and broken, littered the dungeon floors along with his still unconscious peers. Among the living were Draco. The youngest Malfoy was playing with a lock of Ginny's long, fiery hair as the girl slept on. This Weasley was making Drake soft!
Blaise sat down opposite and continued to stare at the couple. After several long seconds in which the blonde didn't look up Blaise coughed loudly. Draco's eyes snapped up to his, "Not interrupting anything, am I?"
Before Draco could reply Ginny groaned loudly and rolled over, hiding her face in Draco's chest, "Wha t'me issit?"
Blaise scoffed as Draco asked, "What was that, beautiful?"
Ginny groaned again, burring her face further into her boyfriend she said slightly more legibly, "What. Time. Is. It?"
"The time is eight-thirty two in the morning," Luna's dreamy voice said as she came down from the boy's dormitory, holding a number of small vials containing the murky, orange Hangover Relief Potion.
"Oh, Luna, you're my hero," Blaise said, taking one of the vials from her and downing the foul liquid in one gulp.
"Ditto." Groaned Daphne, raising her vial in a toast to Luna and following Blaises lead in drinking up.
"Where's Harlen at?" Theo said, appearing from the other side of the couch and making his way over to where Luna had left the potion on the mantle and taking his own.
"No fucking clue." Draco said, grimacing as the thick potion slid down his throat. Ginny grunted indignantly and slapped his arm, "What?"
Ginny just rolled her eyes, "Lets just hope Pansy didn't decide to 'show him her room' like she did with that poor Puff the other night. That kid'll never be the same again."
Theo grinned, "Yeah, I seen him 'round since then. He thinks he's hot as." He said falling into a snorting laughter.
"No, he's not up there…" Luna said, blinking slowly, "I don't remember seeing him after he left."
"Yes, Luna," Theo said patiently, "A person has to leave, to not be seen again."
"Shut up, you ungrateful git," Ginny groaned, throwing a pillow at Theo's head and sniffing the potion cautiously, "Luna just got you Hangover Potion."
"Too true," observed Theo the empty vial before ginning at Luna, "Thanks for that."
Luna tilted her head sideways, "You look like a Gryffindor when you do that."
Theo's face turned an unhealthy shade of green as the smile slid off his face, "Don't you never, ever say that again… I think I'm gonna be sick."
"Oi!" Ginny's eyes flashed dangerously, never a good sign.
"Okay, time for breakfast!" Draco said hurriedly, grabbing hold of Ginny's hand and dragging her out of the Common Room before she could protest.
"I'm scared." Theo stated, eyes bulging in their sockets.
"I would be to." Blaise answered simply, allowing Luna to take his hand in hers and following her out of the Common Room.
"Don't leave me!"
By the time Luna, Blaise and Theo had reached the Great Hall Ginny was already in full swing in yet another row with her older-by-one-year brother, Ron.
"I'm allowed to do what I want, with whomever I want. Thank you, very much!" Ginny stuck out her chin stubbornly, sending dagger at her brother whom was standing opposite her, the red already prominent in his ears spreading to his cheeks.
"I am not going to allow MY SISTER, to 'do whatever she wants, with whomever she wants', if that whomever is Ferret-Boy Malfoy!" Ron said gesturing wildly towards Draco who was standing, smirking from behind Ginny with his hands wrapped firmly around her waist.
"Not allowed…!" Ginny whispered in a dangerously low voice. "I'm not allowed?' she hissed again. The air around the redhead seemed to crackle with magic as Ginny whirled around, grabbing a fist full of Draco's silver and green tie before pulling him down, his mouth to hers.
After several eventful moments the pair broke apart.
"Still think I'm not allowed to do what I want, with whom I want?" Ginny asked as she regained composure, brushing flyaway tendrils of hair from her eyes, and attempting to stare a now wide-eyed Ron down.
"Not in the Great Hall or during meals, Miss Weasley. Detention." Snape drawled from behind them. During the 'heat of the moment' no one had noticed the irritable professor swooping almost bat-like down from the teachers table, "You as well, Mr Malfoy." Noticing the smirk spreading across the young Slytherin's face he added, "Separately."
Catching Ron grinning triumphantly out of the corner of his eye Snape said, "You, Mr Weasley, you will also have detention."
"What? What I do?" Ron protested loudly.
"Talked back." Snape said smoothly.
"'Talked back', hate to!" Theo taunted before realizing that an aggravated Snape was still within listening range.
"Detention."
"Dammit."
"That's what you get for being dickheads." Blaise said knowingly, crossing his arms and tutting his four peers.
"Mr Zabini?"
"Yes, Professor?" Blaise asked pleasantly, turning to face his Head Of House.
"Language like that will not be tolerated, Detention." Snape said, turning on his heel and heading back to the front of the Hall.
"Dammit."
"No, no, no! Use your sword! Use your sword!" yelled Draco at a piece of parchment. He was watching his stick figure battle Theo's stick figure, and now he was losing. "The sword, dammit!" he cried again.
"Ha!" shrilled Theo. "I'm so gonna beat you! Now, Theoiptus The Great," he said, talking to his stick figure, who saluted and listened avidly for it's next instruction, "He's almost dead, so attack that pipsqueak with your sword already!"
Blaise threw down the grimy steal-wool with which he had been scrubbing yellow, oozing muck out of cauldrons. Snape's detentions were no fun. Weasel King wasn't even here to pick on, as Snape had put him and Ginny in a different detention. Now with neither Theo nor Draco doing the work…
Blaise got out his wand, and with a swish of the magical stick he whispered, "Incendio!", and the parchment bearing the other two Slytherin's game, went up in flames before lying in a small heap of ash on the dungeon floor.
"Hey! I almost had him!" cried Theo indignantly, united with Draco's screech of "Draconis The Awesome! No!", that reverberated off the dungeon walls.
"Come help me clean, or we'll never get out here," said Blaise evenly; watching Draco back away while Theo grabbed a cloth.
"We have house elves that do the cleaning," Draco explained snobbishly, and Blaise just shook his head.
Draco sighed, leaning against the wall. "Man, I could be with Gin right now!" he whined. "Fucking Snape!" he spat.
Theo, who was scrubbing away at a cauldron, burst out laughing. "You and Weasley," he panted, "could be fucking Snape?"
"NO!" cried out Draco, while the force of Theo's statement had Blaise falling to floor, a raucous laughter pouring from his lips.
"No!" yelled Draco again, his face flushed. "I meant that Snape's a-a fucktard! And that I should be with Ginny!"
"Aww, c'mon," teased Theo, "you know that's shit…"
"You're shit!" Draco retorted speedily, turning sharply and pacing the timber floor.
"You're both shit," the Italian teen said, clutching at his side as he got off the floor. "Now hurry up and help me clean these!"
"I'm not helping if Draco's not!"
"The fuck you aren't!"
"Guys…" said Draco slowly over Blaise and Theo's arguing.
"Fuck no! I said I'm not helping!"
"Yes you are!"
"GUYS!"
Blaise and Theo wheeled around to find Draco, crouched down in the far corner of the room, his nose all but pressed against the floor.
"Dude…" Draco breathed.
"What?" asked Theo irritably.
"Dude, come look at this…"
Blaise stormed over, ready to dismiss whatever Draco was looking at, but his mouth feel open at what the blonde Slytherin was directing him to see.
Theo rolled his eyes, slapped his cloth on the table, and walked casually over to his classmates. On the wooden surface, scratched in boyish, messy writing was;
JAMES POTTER
FIRST YEAR: lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll
SECOND YEAR: lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll
THIRD YEAR: lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll ll
FOURTH YEAR: lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lll
FIFTH YEAR: lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll l
SIXTH YEAR: lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll llll
SEVENTH YEAR: lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll
"Dude!" exploded Blaise, forgetting all about cleaning cauldrons. "Who was this 'James Potter' guy? He must have been…wow…"
"Look at all the detentions…" cooed Theo, tracing over FIFTH YEAR with his fingers in awe. "This guy must have been brilliant…how many do ya reckon?"
Draco quickly counted; numbers had always been his forte. "My guess is something around…three hundred and ninety-five…"
"Nice estimate," snorted Theo. "Pity he didn't get to four hundred."
"Dude," said Blaise eagerly, "We've got to find out who this is!"
A/N: AND THE PLOT THICKENS! Special thanks yet again to Little Miss Mione, who basically created the whole 'Detention Sequence'. Have a good New Years, and Merry Christmas (or what ever else there is). I know, no Harry in this chapter, but some pretty big stuff happens to our Mr Potter verily soon…ish. Hope you like the direction Shame's headed in! Oh, and also, if you were to comment about my writing style –whether you like it, where I could improve, ect.– it would be greatly appreciated.