Reasons chapter 4
Sweet Revenge
For the first time in his five years a Hogwarts, maybe even in his life, James Potter was afraid. 'What's this nut job going to do?' He had let his guard down because of what Dumbledore had said the others day; this was the result. He could feel more spells being cast on him as he tried to break them. Not well versed in non-verbal spells, his mouth sealed shut, and no wand he was virtually helpless. He felt his arms and legs being bound together by unseen tendrils. James did not fall over, but he couldn't move.
"Oh, you're going to learn something from me today Potter," Snape menaced. "You're going to learn just who you're dealing with."
James had a thought. 'A lunatic?'
"How's it feel Potter? How's it feel to be at the complete mercy of someone else?"
James tried to scream for help. It was pointless.
Severus informed, "There's no one down here now."
Potter tried to shout again. The zip it spell was not wearing off anytime soon.
"Unlike you, I don't need an audience."
'Yhea, you like to sneak around,' is what James would have said if he could.
"Not feeling so tough now are you Jimmy Jackass?"
Dumbledore's tallying chalk was flying up to the board. It never made it. In contrast to the spell keeping James' mouth shut, the goop was running down letting him see a little bit. He saw Severus blast the chalk to powder. "That takes care of that." Snape turned back to Potter. "I can do what ever I like to you now."
Snape's wand was pointed at Potter again. "Creepy Crawlius," he hexed.
Feeling as if he had thousands of all manner of worms, slugs, spiders, and bugs with multiple legs and pincers were crawling al inside of his shirt; on his skin, front and back James thought he'd never been more disgusted. Then he heard Severus cast, "Squashio!" The bugs turned to liquid vulgarness.
"Sorry to have ruined that fancy shirt of yours Potter. You probably have fifty more in your trunk. That was fairly close to the mark. Let's see how many things of mine have you ruined that could not be replaced? Lost count, well I haven't." Snape could see that Potter was disgusted by the bug guts all over him. "That's just the appetizer Potter." James was squirming. "Lucky I didn't put them in your pants." Sev paused. "Maybe I will."
James was feeling something he never remembered feeling before - - panic.
"Scared?"
Shaking his head did not help James.
"I thought you always told the truth Potter. I'm going to ask you again. You scared?"
Seaming to be the thing Snape wanted, Potter nodded in the affirmative.
"Good," Severus said as he maniacally paced around James. "Not scared enough."
For some reason the golden snitch began to fly around Snape's head. A wave of his wand and Potter's favorite toy was disintegrated.
"That the best you can come up with? A toy?
James had been trying to hit Severus with the snitch. He was too terrified for the spell to work.
"What, perfect Potter can't do a proper spell under stress?"
Snape threatened Potter with all manner of spells, but didn't do any of them. Severus named off a long list of spells that he knew. Each one of them scared James more.
"I have a new one," Snape clued-up. "I came up with it just for you Potter. Last week was the last time you will ever humiliate me. Watch."
The young dark wizard lifted his wand while levitating a long piece of parchment I the air before casting, "Sectumsempra." The parchment was torn to shreds as it fell to the ground as confetti. Potter was sweating even before Snape told him, "I'm going to use that on your precious face."
James shook his head violently.
"Think I won't? I'm evil right? Evil, that's what you've been telling the whole school isn't it? Do you think I care if I get thrown out of here now, after what you did? Maybe I want to go out in a blaze of evil? Now to take care of your face." Severus was aiming at it again. "Or should I go for your seeker hands? Or should I aim lower?" Severus continued to taunt James with a number of devious things one right after another. Potter was nervous. He became panic-stricken at what was said next. "Then one by one I'll get your stupid friends." That had finally gotten James to struggle. "Yes Potter, struggle. You know how much pleasure it gives me to see you worry about poor Lupin? Be a benefit to the world to have one less of his kind around. As for Peter, take care of him without a reason. Black will be saved for last. I have to think of something special for Black."
Then Snape became curiously quiet. The cauldron seemed to take his attention. "Well your potion is almost ready to explode for my cover up, so I'll just get on with what I came here to do." Severus' wand was raised once more. He uttered the words of the lacerating spell. James had closed his eyes. He waited for the expected pain. He could hear the whooshing of the invisible slicing sword the spell created, but there was no pain. There was not pain because it was not his face that was severed. It was his house colors tie and his Gryffindor jacket badge that were shredded to bits. The other thing James saw when he opened his eyes, was Severus' face only a few inches away from his.
"I'll leave you with this thought Potter," Severus sneered. "You have learned two things from me today. One, that I am the better wizard. Two, what it's like to be humiliated." Snape moved to the other side of the room.
James still couldn't move. He was trying to process what had just happened. What he wondered about the most was the second thing Severus had said he'd been taught. He wasn't humiliated. He was scared. Scared shitless, but not humiliated. Then the cauldron exploded, breaking all of the spells and waking Professor Slughorn, who asked, "What's happened?"
"S-s-nape," James said now that he could talk.
"Don't blame Severus if you didn't brew your potion right and it blew up in your face."
"But he - - "
"You did get your ingredients yourself, did you not?"
"Yes but - - "
Slughorn was examining the mess. "Oh, pity Dumbledore's chalk has broken." The professor looked a Potter. "James, you're a mess. Best go get cleaned up. Detention is over."
Confused, Potter picked up his wand and glared at Snape who was leaning against the wall as if nothing that had just occurred had happened. James wondered what Severus' game was. Why hadn't he hurt him? Why had he only done silly pranks and threatened him. At that point he didn't care what Snape's motives were. He wanted to get as far away from the dungeons. He ran up the spiral stairs as fast as he could.
"See you tomorrow Potter," Snape hissed.
When he emerged from the stairs James noticed that other students were pointing at him and roaring with laughter. This continued all the way to Gryffindor tower. Along the way he had overheard a Ravenclaw girl tell a friend, "Serves him right. Did you see what he did to that Slytherin boy the other day? Even if he is creepy, he didn't deserve that."
Potter wondered at the fact it was someone from a house other than Slytherin who had said it. Didn't everyone else hate Snivelly? The more pointing and jeering that took place, the worse James felt. He had never felt that way, ever. He was used to praise and cheering. This was worse than he had ever imagined, and imagining was the closest he had ever been to this. Relief washed over him when he reached the entrance to the Gryffindor dorms. There were even a few snickers in there.
As he crossed the crowded common room his friend Sirius was the first to ask, "What happened to you?"
"Just a little mishap." In public Potter wasn't about to admit that Snivellus had done this to him. "I'll just go change into a new shirt, tie, and jacket, and it'll be fine."
"Fine?" Lupin put in. "Your tie and jacket are the least of your worries."
James didn't understand. As far as he was knew he just had plant slime on his face, dead bugs in his shirt, and smoke from the exploding cauldron all about him."
"Who did this to you?" Sirius was furious.
"No one." James headed towards the washroom. "I'll just get cleaned up."
It was obvious to everyone that someone had done this to the hero of Gryffindor House. Everyone had their suspicions who. Only one girl knew for sure because of what they'd all seen on James' forehead. When Potter reached a sink he too saw what was there. In big, black letters as if written by a giant piece of charcoal the words 'TOE RAG' were emblazoned across his brow. He took soap and water to his face and rinsed. He rubbed with a towel, but it was to no avail. "It won't come off," he said to his friends who had followed him.
"I am so going to get that sniveling - - " Sirius started to threaten.
"No you're not."
"James, you can't let this go unchallenged."
"Yes I can, and I will."
Now James' friends really wondered what had happened to him.
"Before you start ranting, listen to me," James implored. "Let it go."
"Let it go?"
"Especially you Sirius. If you're my friend, let it go."
"Has he threatened you?"
"No, well yes, but they were just idle threats."
"And you don't want to get back at him?"
James rubbed at the words on his face again. "If this last longer than a few days, I may change my mind."
Sirius was still looking at James like he had gone crazy.
James admitted, "I realized something. I didn't get it until a few minutes ago. I deserved this. I had it coming."
"I can't believe you're saying that."
"Please Sirius. For now, let this one pass."
Sirius was not happy, but he said, "Sure."
Potter didn't quite believe Black. "Swear it."
A long silence passed. "All right, marauder's vow. But if Snivellus puts one toe - - sorry - - out of line, I'm on him."
"Agreed."
Back down in the potions dungeon, the victor in this little show down was cleaning up its aftermath.
"All done?" Professor Slughorn asked.
"Yes, sorry about the mess," Severus replied.
"All in a good cause."
"Professor - - You don't know how much I appreciate, - - I don't know how to thank you properly."
"Just stay out of trouble in future, and that'll be thanks enough."
"By the way," Snape said before he went out. "You did the best impression of a knocked out person I've ever seen."
The two Slytherin smiled at each other. The older one said, "My pleasure. I'll take the complement."
It was a few more minutes later that the same professor was passing the griffin to the headmaster's study.
"So," Dumbledor preambled. "Operation Humble Pie went well?"
"Indeed," Slughorn rejoined. "Hopefully we won't need to anything that drastic again."
"James got the picture?"
"I believe so."
"And Severus?"
"Happy as a clam. Especially since he thinks he did it behind your back."
The two professors winked at each other.
The End
