A/N: I am sorry that this chapter came a bit late, I have been working a few extra shifts this week and got behind. I do hope that you guys enjoy.

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{Parseltongue}

The next morning Angus was still telling everyone that would listen about the stunts Harry and Draco had pulled on their brooms while warming up for tryouts. It was clear to everyone that both brothers were skilled on brooms, and that they would be a great boon for the Hufflepuff team. Draco had made chaser and Harry had made seeker. All three siblings were amused as Angus continued to rave about the brothers which involved him waving his hands around madly for emphases.

After breakfast was over, the trio walked over to the Slytherin table, catching the attention of the students and teachers that were in the Great Hall. The Slytherins became quiet as the Peverells stopped beside Severus who began to look pensive. Harry was the first to break the silence that had spread throughout the room.

"Severus? I was wondering if you would be willing to work with me a bit on my potions essay. I am not nearly as good as Draco and noticed how Potions seemed to be a subject that came to you naturally while we were in class." Severus just stared at the trio. No one from another House had ever asked for his help before. "We were going to the library to work on our homework if you would like to join us." Severus finally snapped out of his stupor and nodded quietly while continuing to stare at the siblings.

"Oh and Bellatrix," Hermione was proud that her voice was steady and friendly while speaking to a woman that would grow up to torture her future self if history was to repeat the same as before. "I was going to ask if you wanted to join us as well. I was going to work on that Rune worksheet that we got on Thursday. It is always more pleasant to study with others, and the boys have already finished theirs."

Bellatrix was floored. "I would love to," she whispered with wide eyes. People tended to stay away from members of the black family as they were known to practice the Dark Arts and were thought to be insane. Bellatrix had gotten used to others staring at her like she was going to jump at them and burn them alive or something. Having people act like she was going to torture them at every turn really put a damper on her social life. This was a completely new experience for the girl.

Hermione grinned at the curly haired girl. "Wonderful. Homework goes so much quicker when you are not alone. Shall we meet in half an hour in the library?" Severus and Bellatrix nodded. "Wonderful. Feel free to bring others, the more the merrier." The trio nodded in unison and smiled identical smiles at the dumfounded Slytherins before walking together from the hall without even glancing at the other tables. The trio was sure that the glare they could feel on their backs came from the head table.

"What the hell?" Lucius asked from his seat beside Severus.

"I have no idea. " Severus continued to look at the empty doorway.

Bellatrix was just staring at her plate and blinking. "They didn't act like we were evil or anything."

"I don't know what to think about Hufflepuffs coming to the Slytherin table and talking to us like we are normal. It's weird" Lucius murmured and frowned at his plate. Some of the Slytherins were shocked when Lucius' mask slipped to show his emotions for a moment, as he was one of the more unflappable Slytherin seventh years.

Bellatrix sniffed. "I liked it."

At the next table, Remus sat still as a statue as he again listened to the Slytherins shatter his preconceived notions. He thought that Lucius had the right idea. What the hell? He seriously needed to talk to James and Sirius again.

The trio claimed the largest table in the library and set out their parchment and books. Harry pulled out his potions homework and some books he had pulled from their personal stash that they had brought from home. He was sure that they would be helpful in both homework and getting Severus to open up a bit. If there was one thing the boy loved, it was potions. Hermione did the same with her Runes homework. Draco decided that he would work on Arithmancy today and just converse with whoever showed up with Severus and Bellatrix.

Draco and Harry had done the Runes homework the night before when they got back to their rooms after tryouts; they had still been humming from too much excess energy to go to sleep and had decided to be productive. Hermione had completed everything but Runes while they were trying out. She had already seen them play and knew they would make the team so used her time wisely, on homework instead of having mini heart attacks every time they pulled a stunt just because they were barmy when on brooms. She knew that by saving her Runes homework, she would have an excuse to try and get close to Bellatrix.

Severus, Lucius, Bellatrix and Theodore joined them at their table in silence after a small bit of hesitation by the entryway. None of them had ever been invited to study outside of their house study groups and were a bit nervous to be giving this new concept a try. The four Slytherins relaxed as the trio quickly made the Slytherins feel welcome by talking about the homework and actually listening to their suggestions and theories on the assignments. Theodore was quick to pull out his Arithmancy homework when he saw that Draco was working on his.

While Severus and Harry debated about the possible substitutes for Moondew that could be used for the Draught of Living Death, a Ravenclaw stopped to listen. After a few moments she joined the table, introduced herself as Selena Abbot and asked Severus if he thought that Moondew was better for potions use if it was only collected on the full moon or at a new moon. After the Slytherin took a moment to blink at the Ravenclaw that had just boldly joined them as if it was an everyday occurrence, Severus jumped into the debate on harvesting the plant at a new moon phase instead of full moon as was more common. Harry only barely succeeded on hiding his glee at having another house join them.

The Ravenclaw settled in and had her roommate joined the table when she arrived. Amy Flower was a Muggleborn that had spent her whole seven years at Hogwarts avoiding the Slytherins. After watching Selena for a few minutes she joined the table and pulled out her Astronomy homework intending on keeping her head down and staying out of the way. After a few more minutes Lucius asked her about a constellation that he was having a hard time mapping on his own worksheet. The two were quickly working on their star charts together and had not even given thought about the other's blood status since they were so immersed in their assignments.

Draco was startled to see his father working with a Muggleborn with no problem but was extremely pleased. He squeezed Hermione's hand to make sure she saw and was happy at the smile that she gave him at the sight. I thought it would take a lot more effort to even get him to speak to a muggleborn. We have not even talked about the Legacy Potion yet to see if the muggleborns have squibs in their trees.

AFTER BREAKFAST_THE MARAUDERS

Remus watched as the four Slytherins that were going to join the trio gathered their things and left the hall. He had been listening to them since the trio had left. Lucius and Theodore had decided to join the group to make sure that nothing happened to their fellow snakes. Remus was shocked at the unity coming from a house that he had always thought contained backstabbers and evil dark wizards. He looked at his friends and decided that they would be talking about what he had just heard as soon as they were done with breakfast.

His eyes stopped as they landed on Peter. He was not quite sure what to think about his friend. The marauders had been together since first year, but he had not realized how mean the boy could be until this year. He had always thought the boy was the more timid out of the four of them and the one that would be least likely to be vicious to others, but this year he seemed to be noticing things that he had overlooked before.

On the way down to breakfast they had seen a first year Ravenclaw trip and fall in the hallway. The little boy had cried and had to be helped to the infirmary because he had sprained his wrist when he landed on it. None of the marauders had laughed, but Remus had seen the glee in Peter's eyes as he smiled at the boy's misfortune.

Thinking back at the pranks they had pulled in the past, Remus realized that while Peter had not been able to set the pranks up, he had been there to tell them that the prank needed to be stronger or more humiliating. They were bullies, but what did that make Peter if he seemed to revel in others humiliation like that? Maybe I won't tell Peter just yet. He was still whingeing because we did not prank any Slytherins before bed last night. I don't think he will be happy if we talk about the Slytherins without planning something.

Remus felt bad about thinking about Peter this way, but he just could not seem to figure out what was up with the boy. Maybe I should talk to Sirius and James about Peter too." Remus nodded as he made his decision to talk to the others about his misgivings about their friend. He smiled at James as he sent him a questioning look from his place beside Lily. Remus mouthed 'later' to his friend and returned to his breakfast when James smiled and nodded.

As the boys got up, James asked Lily to walk with him. Lily smiled and told them that she was on her way to do homework in the library but that they were welcome to join her. Remus smiled at the redhead as Peter huffed and said that he was not doing homework today. Remus was quick to tell Lily that he would join her and sent a pointed look at Sirius, who would have normally agree with Peter to hold off on doing homework until the last minute. Sirius snapped his mouth closed and sent a questioning glance at Remus before agreeing to go to the library after James agreed.

"But we should go outside and plan some pranks. We haven't done anything fun yet this year." Peter complained to the other marauders.

"Peter, we just want to get a start on our homework so we don't get behind. If you don't want to go to the library, you don't have to." Remus hoped that the boy would leave them and do his own thing so that they could speak without him around. Sirius sent him another questioning glance since Remus was the one that normally would cave to Peter's whingeing first.

When the boys just looked at Peter as they waited for a decision, Peter scowled before storming away towards the front entrance. Both James and Sirius gave Remus looks that demanded an explanation when he gave a clear sigh of relief.

"What was that all about Moony?" James asked in confusion. Even Lily seemed to be confused at the relief that Remus was displaying from the departure of the other boy.

"I wanted to talk to you but did not want Peter around to hear it." Remus looked at the floor as he waited for the others to tell him that he was being a bad friend by trying to exclude the other boy. He was afraid that his friends would turn on him if they thought that he was trying to exclude one of their own.

Sirius tugged at the sandy haired werewolf's sleeve to get his attention. "What is going on that you want to talk without Peter listening? Has he done something?"

"That's just it. I just keep seeing him differently I guess." When the others just blinked at him he continued to try to explain. "Okay, take this morning, that little firsty, Peter seemed happy that he got hurt. Like happy happy. I have noticed a few times now that he seems to get a lot of enjoyment from seeing others hurt or humiliated. I knew that he would not react well to what I want to tell you guys and will just try to get us to bully someone instead."

James just looked at his friend who was biting his lower lip in nervousness. "Okay mate. We will be careful of what we say around him until we figure out what is going on with him. And we will all keep an eye on him, just in case. You are good at noticing stuff, Remus, and we trust you." Remus seemed to deflate as he released the breath that he had been holding.

As the group turned to make their way to the library Lily spoke from her place beside James. "So Remus, what was it that you wanted to tell us? Do you need me to let you guys talk in private for a moment? I won't mind waiting."

"No that's ok Lily. You can stay." The girl beamed at Remus for not excluding her. "Well, Sirius, you know how I kind of overheard Regulus talking about wanting you to go home?" He waited for Sirius to nod. "Well, I was kind of eavesdropping on the Slytherin table when the Peverells went over there this morning." He finished talking at a rush and blush stained his cheeks as he admitted to eavesdropping again. It is really hard not to with my hearing though.

Sirius laughed at Remus's blush. "Okay, what did you hear this morning Moony?" He did not mind one bit that his friend was listening in on other people's conversations. It came in quite handy sometimes. Without Remus's supper hearing, he would have never had the courage to write to his family. He was still nervous, but had gathered up his Gryffindor courage and sent the letter off before joining his mates for breakfast this morning. He did not want to wait as he was scared that he would lose his nerve. Lily and James were looking at Remus with unbridled curiosity.

"Well, Harry and Hermione invited Severus and Bellatrix to the library to study." He looked over to see all three of his companions blinking at him in surprise. "But that was not the shocking part." He continued to receive blinks from the others. They came to a stop so that they could see Remus's face as he told them the not shocking part of what he heard this morning.

What can be more shocking than inviting Bella to study? Sirius was flabbergasted at the thought of someone wanting to spend time with the girl. He always thought she was a little bit crazy.

"Well, the Slytherins seemed shocked. And well, Bellatrix seemed like she was going to cry because someone was nice to her without acting scared of her. I swear that I heard her sniffing. Then Lucius and Theodore said that they would go with the other two just to make sure that they were ok. It was like they were worried that the Hufflepuffs were going to hurt them or pull something, and they wanted to protect them."

Remus looked at his companions shocked faces and knew that he was not the only one that was having a hard time believing that the Slytherins would feel that they needed protection from the other houses.

"I don't really know what to say about that." James was confused. "How can they be so different than what we expected?"

"That's just it James, what if we have been projecting our expectations on them and seeing what we were told to expect?" Remus whispered. "What if we have been wrong like we may have been with Padfoot's family?"

"What do you mean about Sirius's family?" Lily said as she tried to process Bellatrix sniffing because someone invited her to study with them.

"Well, I kind of overheard Regulus say something that may mean that Sirius's family misses him." Remus really hated having to admit to his eavesdropping habit. "We came to the conclusion that they may have just thought that he would not have wanted to have anything to do with them because he was sorted into a house that thinks, in general, that the Slytherins are all evil. We were thinking that maybe they just did not know what to say to him. He wrote to them last night."

Lily looked from one boy's face to the others. "So it is possible that they are just acting as we expect them to?" Lily thought desperately over the memories that she had of her Hogwarts years to see if the Slytherins were ever mean to her without someone egging them on first. Even when Severus had called her mudblood, he had been hanging upside down because of the marauders. He had even come to apologize to her afterwards.

James gave a small confused smile to his girlfriend. "If it possible with his family, I guess it could be true for the snake house too. What if we were wrong?" He looked so conflicted that Lily gave him a warm hug to comfort him.

"Well, there is only one way to find out." She grabbed James's hand and pulled him in the direction of the library. The other two quickly following behind the redheaded girl that was pulling their friend by the arm.

The group came to a stop just inside the doors to the library as they stood watching the three houses work together in peace. It seemed that even Madam Shoal did not mind the talking that was emanating from the table; though she was keeping a close eye on the study group for any issues that could arise.

Sirius felt like the world had turned upside down and sideways. "What the fuck?" This was just a bit much for him to handle at one time. He felt that he was trapped in some sort of potion induced dream.

Lilly reached over and smacked the back of his head while muttering, "Language," all without taking her eyes of the group that was working together without fighting. She was still reeling from what Remus had just told them.

James looked from his friends to the study group and back again. Maybe the Slytherins were not so bad if they could work with Muggleborns and other houses like that. And if it was true of a Hogwarts house, then the chances of them being correct about Sirius's family were that much higher. "Well, it seems like that is the table to study at today. What do you say?"

The marauders looked at each other indecisively then back at the table while trying to make a decision. All three of them were trying to come to grips with their conflicting thoughts about the Slytherins. They had always been told by older students and even some of their teachers that Slytherin house made people power hungry and dark.

Sirius could clearly remember the Headmaster comforting him and giving him lemon drops the day after his sorting. He had admitted to the Headmaster that he was worried about how his family would react. Now he was feeling conflicted about the mild warning he had gotten from the smiling Headmaster, to be careful at home and around his family since they would not be happy he was sorted in Gryffindor. It was the Headmaster that had suggested that he not write home until they wrote to him since it could make them even more upset at his breaking the mold. Maybe I just misunderstood?

"Oh come on." Lilly said while grabbing James by the sleeve again and pulling him behind her. "Hello, mind if we join you?" Lilly took a seat and pulled James into the seat beside her before anyone had a chance to protest. Sirius and Remus joined a few moments later after taking deep breaths to calm their nerves. The table was a bit tense while everyone got used to the idea of Slytherins and Gryffindors sitting at the same table and possibly working together. The addition had even managed to draw the attention of the two Ravenclaws who would not normally take time out of their studies to watch the antics of the two rival houses. Remus broke the sudden silence by addressing Severus from across the table.

"Hey, Severus…umm. Well, we have been talking, I mean, Sirius, James and I, and…well… we wanted to tell you that we were sorry about being prats to you." Remus looked up from the table as he apologized to the black haired student.

Sirius nodded. "We are sorry Snape. We have acted like complete shit to you and owe you an apology."

James also offered his apology to the stunned Slytherin. "We truly are sorry. We never really looked at our actions from your point of view and were completely out of line."

The Slytherins blinked at the marauders as the other students looked on with amazement. The trio pinched each other under the table to prevent themselves from jumping up to do happy dances.

"I accept your apology." Severus said slowly after a few minutes. "Selena, Harry and I are working on our Potions essay if you would like to work with us." The truce was offered before he could stop the words from coming out of his mouth. He was not sure how he felt about the apology but decided to see where it went. It could not possibly get worse, and if it was sincere his life would be much less stressful. Maybe now I can talk to Lily about potions now without being hexed.

"That would be great." Sirius and Remus both switched seats so that they were closer to those working on Potions and then quickly joined the others in the Moondew debate and began adjusting their essays as they went. Everyone else settled back into their studies and continued to converse about their chosen subjects.

Within a few hours everyone had finished their weekend homework. This surprised Sirius and James who normally waited until the last minute. They had really enjoyed working with the study group as it had made the time go by so much faster working with others. It was especially helpful to have people from other houses answer questions that they did not know.

Though they were finished with their assignments, no one made a move to leave the table since they were all still engrossed in various discussions about their extracurricular studies.

Hermione had pulled Bellatrix and Theodore into a discussion about the different theories on merging existing wards with Runes and Arithmancy. Bellatrix was fascinated at the concept since she had not found any books that had mentioned the combination before. Theodore was proud to say that he had many warding books in his family library on the subject, as his grandfather had held Masteries in Warding and Arithmancy. He offered to have them sent so that they could compare them with the books that Hermione had.

Draco was able to get James and Lily talking about their future goals outside of Hogwarts. He found out that James wanted to be an Auror like his dad and Lily wanted to get her Mastery in Charms. She hoped to one day be able to improve on existing charms and even make new ones that would help with everyday life. She also wanted to see if there was a way to charm muggle electronics so that they would work around magic.

Lucius was still talking to Amy, who had pulled out a muggle astronomy book to show to the blond boy. He was fascinated by the pictures and the information that was contained in the book. He interrogated the girl on her knowledge of muggle space exploration and was astounded to realize that muggles had made their way to the moon and sent probes to the other planets in their solar system to take pictures. Even if their pictures did not move, they were much clearer than the drawings that they used in class. Amy just watched the blond boy with bemusement as he flipped through her muggle book while muttering "amazing" to himself. She was not quite sure how to process her day. Lucius asked that Amy write her parents so that they could get more muggle astronomy books that he would gladly pay for.

Severus was arguing with Selena about experimental use of dried Chichevache skin in a potion to encourage hair growth. Remus and Sirius were desperately looking through a potions book to try and find out what the hell a Ccichevache was, only to blanch in disgust when they came across a picture of a strange looking cow that had a human face and was nothing but skin and bones. Apparently it fed on good women and had a difficult time finding women that met its requirements of 'good'. Neither of them would want to drink anything that had a piece of that creature in it.

Harry just watched the fireworks with a smile on his face. He had never seen Severus so animated. He was shocked when Severus turned to him with a fanatic look on his face.

"Peverell! Tell this crazy girl that Chichevache skin would most likely cause her potion to become toxic!" Severus was looking at the boy as though daring him to disagree.

"I have not studied the ingredient, but I do believe that I have read that the skin is toxic even before it is dried. I am not sure what would be able to counter the toxicity." Harry was relieved to see that Severus was placated by his vague answer.

Severus and Selena quickly began to debate again until Sirius interrupted them to let them know that it was time for Dinner and he was hungry. They had spent all day in the library.

The group decided that they would all be fine with continuing to study together on Saturdays and would try to study some in the library on the weekdays after classes or in free periods. The group examined each other's schedules and tried to make note of the best times for weekday studies before they made plans to meet the next weekend to complete all their unfinished homework for the week. After plans had been agreed upon, the group dispersed. Everyone made their way to the Great Hall for dinner after quick stops at their common rooms to drop off their bags.

At dinner the Hufflepuffs and some other students were amused to see a role reversal with the triplets. Draco was immersed in a book and Hermione would poke him from her normal position in the middle of the two brothers to remind him to eat. Viddy had happily collected their copy of the Hogwarts Charter before they went down to dinner and Draco was busy making notes and plots for the others to go over. Harry and Hermione cheerfully ate their dinners and chatted while their brother read.