Trouble Avoided

Trouble Avoided

By Matthew W. Quinn

Author's Note: Much of this chapter is adapted from "Snape's Worst Memory," pgs. 624-651 in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. That obviously belongs to J.K. Rowling.

June 20th, 1976

11:30 AM

It turned out that Lily was right. Although the Gryffindor girls continued to give him a wide berth, the Ravenclaw trio continued to invite him to their study sessions and social gatherings. He still had to come back to the Slytherin common room every night and although most of them still continued to glare at him, none of them, not even Mulciber, tried to pick fights.

Then the O.W.L.s came and there was no more time for fun.

As Snape suspected, Divination proved to be a colossal pain, while Herbology and Charms proved to be tolerable. He'd even managed to impress his instructor by doing the Summoning Charm without his wand, something that it'd taken days of instruction of Ian and hours upon hours of practice on his own to do. Now Snape was taking his Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L., his favorite subject, and he thought he was doing quite well.

I've answered pretty much all of the questions, he thought with pride, and probably better than any of the others. A surreptitious glance showed that he'd written a foot more on his parchment than his neighbors and most of them had larger handwriting than he did. I think I'll definitely get an O on this one.

He decided to make one last check of his answers. His eyes scanned the paper, taking in werewolves, boggarts and…

"Quills down, please!" squeaked Professor Filius Flitwick. "That means you too, Stebbins. Please remain seating while I collect your parchment!" A flick of his wand, a cry of "Accio!" and over a hundred rolls of parchment hurtled through the air, knocking the diminutive professor off his feet. Snape suppressed a smile as two other students helped the little man back up.

"Thank you, thank you," Flitwick panted. "Very well everybody, you're free to go!"

Snape rose to his feet and stuffed his supplies into his bag. Then, he made his way towards the door leading outside.

I'm meeting up with Ian and John down by the lake for some dueling practice prior to lunch and the second part of the test. Best not be late.

He made his way past the bushes where he'd ordinarily sit to review his O.W.L. towards the lake. He passed by a group of girls who'd taken their shoes and socks off to cool their feet in the lake and watch the friendly squid gamboling in the water.

"Hey Sev!" Lily called from within the group. He turned and smiled, careful to keep his mouth shut. He'd lately grown rather self-conscious about his uneven teeth. Lily waved to him, as did Sarah Jewell. Mary Macdonald and Kelly Andrews nodded to him and he nodded back.

"How'd the O.W.L. go?" Snape asked.

"It went well," Lily said. "I think I did better in Potions and Charms though."

"Makes sense," Snape said. "I…"

"I think I did well too," Sarah Jewell interrupted. "Some of that stuff you said about the Reductor curse was really quite helpful and…"

Snape spotted Lily looking uneasy again. Bloody hell, we've been friends since we were nine. Surely she'd have gotten used to my interest in the Dark Arts by now. "Glad I could be of service, Sarah," he said. "Now, have you seen your brother anywhere? We're supposed to meet up for…"

"Hey Severus!" John Anderson called from a few yards away. "We're over here!" Snape turned to see Anderson and the elder Jewell waiting by the lake.

"Well, business calls," Snape said. Here's a thought. He bowed to the girls and Lily and Sarah giggled. He reddened a bit—usually when people laughed, it was at him—but allowed himself to smile. I don't think they're laughing at you this time.

"Expelliarmus!" Anderson shouted before Snape could finish his bow, sending Snape's wand flying. "Don't be distracted!"

"Accio!" Snape shouted, focusing with all his might. The result gave him a slight headache, but his wand leaped back towards his hand. He spun, wand out. "Stupefy!" he called back.

"Protego!" Anderson shouted, but his shield wasn't strong enough — Snape's attack knocked him flat on his behind. Ian Jewell laughed, as did Lily and Sarah. Snape allowed himself a smile at this small triumph.

"Come on," Jewell said, helping Anderson to his feet. "Can't sit this one out."

Little did Snape know that he'd avoided a serious problem that day…

June 20th, 1976

11:30 AM

"I thought that paper was a piece of cake," Sirius Black said. "I'll be surprised if I don't get Outstanding on it at least."

"Me too," James Potter said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a struggling Golden Snitch.

"Where'd you get that?" Black asked.

"Nicked it," Potter said. I don't think the Quidditch team will miss one Snitch, particularly if I can buy them a dozen more to replace it.

He released the Snitch and let it fly, then snagged it before it got a foot away. He noticed Peter Pettigrew watching him with awe. Time to show off a bit, James thought, a smile spreading across his face. He let the Snitch fly again, only to snag it before it had gotten two feet. Pettigrew applauded.

The foursome made their way into the shade of a beech tree. Lupin settled in beneath the tree and pulled out a textbook, while Black kept an eye on the gaggle of girls sitting by the lake. Potter continued playing with the Snitch, performing ever more elaborate moves.

"Put that away will you?" Sirius said after a particularly intricate move had elicited a cheer from Pettigrew. "Before Wormtail wets himself from excitement."

Potter was somewhat annoyed. But I was having fun! Then he shrugged. Suit yourself. "If it bothers you," he said. He pocketed the Snitch.

Black let out a sigh. "I'm bored," he said. "Wish it was a full moon."

"You might," Lupin said, an edge in his voice. "We've still got Transfiguration to worry about. If you're bored, how about you test me?" He shoved his book at Black, who refused to take it.

"I don't need to look at that rubbish, I know it all."

Potter, however, had spotted someone who might be useful in entertaining his bored friend. Snivellus! The Slytherin boy was making his way towards the lake, past the group of girls, as though he had somewhere to go.

Not that he'd care about those girls, Potter thought. He loves only the Dark Arts. Then he spotted that one of the girls cooling their feet in the water was Lily Evans and the two of them exchanged greetings as they passed. Although he's definitely got a thing for Evans too. He restrained himself from snorting. She's a sensible girl, I doubt she'd go for some Death Eater wannabe. Still, it might be a good idea to provoke the greasy git, make him do some Dark Magic. That'll make it obvious that he's the poorer choice and that I, who hate Dark Magic and pureblood snobbery as much as she does, am the better man. He grinned.

"This'll liven you up, Padfoot," Potter said. He pointed at Snape. "Look who it is."

Black turned and looked at the Slytherin boy, then looked back at James. "So?" he asked.

What? Potter knew that Black's enthusiasm for tormenting the Slytherin boy had cooled over the last few weeks, but surely he'd still be up for the usual fun.

"Come on, Padfoot. It's Snivellus! You know, a friend of your nasty cousin Bella." Potter knew how Black hated his other relatives, at least some of whom were Death Eaters. That'll get him going.

"I doubt that. She and her ugly boyfriend Roddy" — Black made a disgusted face — "came by the house for Easter and she was raving about blood treason in the Slytherin House. I think she was referring to the arse-stomping that Snape administered to that bastard Mulciber."

Potter snorted. "You know how Slytherins are. He wouldn't have given a damn if it was anyone other than Evans who got hexed. Come on, Padfoot. I picked up a new spell — one he invented, I'm told — and I want to try it out. Give the little bastard a taste of his own medicine."

"Umm," Lupin said from behind his book.

"What, Moony?" Potter asked. "Never noticed you to care before."

Lupin pointed. Snape had met up with some other boys near the lake. Potter squinted. That's Anderson and that's Jewell, the Ravenclaw prefect. Evans had told him she'd introduced them soon after Snape's fight with Mulciber and, surprisingly, they'd hit it off. Friends with someone other than his pureblood-fascist gang? That's a surprise. Still, one of them was a prefect, and he didn't have time for detention with O.W.L.s still going.

"All right, Padfoot, not today." Then Potter grinned. "How about we scare some firsties? They'll be so preoccupied with their test papers we might be able to sneak up on them."

Black smiled. "That works for me, Prongs." The two boys grinned for awhile and then set off back towards the Great Hall. Pettigrew giggled and scampered after them and Lupin, with a groan of exasperated resignation, put his book away and followed.