They Call

Chapter 26

Situation Normal

The Headmaster did some quick wand work to remove the blood from Sirius' face, but it was James and Remus he addressed his words to. "You two bring him to the hospital wing to make sure there isn't anything else going on up there. I will be there shortly."

None of the boys were sure if he meant to see how Black was doing, or to dole out punishments. Either way they all knew Severus was going to be dealt with first. This put a smile on Sirius' face. Black walked away flanked by two of his three best friends, holding onto his ear for effect; it didn't really hurt anymore. After a safe distance, for good measure, he shot back "Hope you kick his sorry ass out of here for good."

A look from Dumbledore was all it took for Sirius to turn back to the direction they were heading in. The old wizard stood for a while pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes shut in contemplation. It was obvious to the two boys who remained that the Headmaster was thinking about what to do next. Severus took the initiative and put his thoughts out in the air. "So, is that what you're going to do?"

Dumbledore's eyes opened up to see a defiant look on Snape's face, while there was a confused one on Lovegood's. He remained silent.

"Kick my sorry ass out of here for good. Solve all your problems; let the celebrating begin?"

Annoyed and sympathetic at the same time the boy's name was all the old man said, "Severus . . ."

Xeno's eyes were darting back and forth between the Headmaster and his Slytherin friend. He didn't know that this face off behavior was part of the dynamics of their relationship towards each other. It had always been push pull, love hate between these two. The boy wishing but never admitting he would have rather have had him as a father than what he had. The old man feeling sympathetic but knowing he couldn't adopt every wayward child that passed through the doors of Hogwarts. An image of Sirius and Severus under the same roof with him made Dumbledore shiver. He was thinking about sending Sirius back to the Blacks before the end of term, but he couldn't bring himself to send Severus back to Tobias any sooner than necessary. "No, I intend on keeping your sorry ass right here." The look of shock on both boy's faces was priceless. "If you don't go around planning to kick any other students in the head." Severus' head lowered. "You're not intending on that are you?"

"No," Sev mumbled.

"Good." With this last word Dumbledore walked off. He knew Severus would do enough self chastising to keep the boy in line.

Xeno's eyes were still darting around as he tried to figure out what had just happened. He wasn't sure how he should feel about the rescue of his face from what surely would have been a 'black' eye. Even more than Severus, Xenopillius was not one to resort t the physical to solve problems. The Ravenclaw boy was more likely to joke or talk his way out of tricky situations, and truth be told, he would if pushed to his limit, his final resort would be to back down first. Lovegood had seen the look the Headmaster had given Snape before he'd left. It was as stern a look he had ever seen Dumbledore give anyone. He also noticed how much this had shook Severus, though the Slytherin boy tried to hide it. Sev's head was lowered, water was still dripped off his hair, and he had not moved. When Sev hadn't moved even a little while longer Xeno asked, "Sev, you're not injured, are you?"

"No," was the somber answer that Xeno didn't seem to hear.

"If so, you should let someone know."

"I said I was all right," Severus snapped. The other young wizard was wondering why Snape was snapping at him. Hadn't Severus just told Sirius Black he was his friend? He said nothing waiting for Severus to explain. "I can't believe I did that," the dark boy mumbled. Now Xeon was wondering if Sev had regretted getting in trouble for defending him. Before Lovegood could ask, Snape kept talking. "I swore I wouldn't be like him. And there I was acting just like, him."

Not realizing Severus was talking more to himself than to his friend, Xeno asked, "Him who? Sirius Black?"

As if waking up from some sleeping spell, Severus looked at Xenophillius. "No, not Black."

Not knowing how he knew, Xeno had a feeling he was going into territory that very few had ever gone with Severus Snape.

Severus didn't know why he suddenly asked, "What are your parents like?"

"What do you mean, what are they like?" Xeno seemed confused by the seeming change in subject. "Like most people's parents I suppose."

"Oh." Severus was now regretting opening up.

"You didn't ask that because you think I'm weird or something?" Xeno went on the defensive. "And being weird I must come from a weird family? I assure you my parents are as normal a witch and wizard as anyone else's parents."

Realizing his blunder Sev defended, "No, I didn't mean that. Not at all. I imagine your parents must be, perfect."

"Perfect?" Xeno's defenses dropped slightly. "I didn't say they were perfect, just normal."

A look of relief seemed to come over Snape. "Oh, then your Dad does hit you." Almost immediately Sev knew he'd slipped.

"Hit me?" This question shocked Xeno the most. "Why would he hit me?"

"No reason," Sev tried to cover.

"My eyes were like this when I was born. No one slapped them this way."

Sev was trying to make a quick retreat now. "Going to be late for the practical Transfiguration exam. Got to dash."

Xeno was left wondering what had just happened. He spent half of the day a bit annoyed with Mr. Snape. It wasn't until much later while studying with Corona in the Ravenclaw common room that it dawned on him why Severus had asked that peculiar question. He was telling her about the incident.

"He wasn't saying your Dad hit you," Rona tried to explain. She had understood right off the bat.

"Oh yes he was. Those were his very words," Xeno insisted. "Then your Dad does hit you. I was not mistaken. Practically accused my father of giving me my crossed eyes."" He would have gone on if Corona hadn't place a gentle hand on his forearm to stop him.

"Xen." Corona spoke in the way she did. A way that made things clear. "He wasn't saying that." Xeno looked at her waiting for the explanation. "He was telling you, his Dad hits him. That's who he doesn't want to be like."

Open mouthed Xeno tried to say something. Nothing came out of his mouth for a moment. Then he asked, "Then why didn't he just say that?"

"He was testing the water. Think about it Xeno. If your Dad was hitting you, would you go around announcing it?"

"Yes, I would." Lovegood said this in all seriousness. "I'd expose the rotter . . ." The look on Solaris' face told Xeno she didn't believe him. "I would," he insisted.

"You probably would. Most people would be embarrassed." She paused. "I think."

"Embarrassed?" Xeno didn't comprehend. "I'd think the one doing the hitting should be the one embarrassed."

"I agree." Corona planted a kiss on Xeno's forehead. "But put yourself in Sev's shoes."

"You know," Xeno was thinking out loud. "Between sixteen and seventeen, I've seen a lot of fellows grow quite a bit. My cousin Eccolson grew a whole foot over one summer. If Severus does that, the bruit won't be able to push him around. He'll give it right back. Then again, he did seem to regret hitting Mr. Black."

Down in the Slytherin common room, Severus was being cross examined by another Black who had come tearing into the dungeons. "What the heck happened between you and my brother Snape," Regulus barked out. This was unusual. Regulus usually cheered Severus on when he antagonized his brother.

"He tried to drown me and I defended myself," Sev growled back. He tried to intimidate Reg. "You got a problem with that?" It looked rather funny because the younger one was already taller than the other.

"Normally no." Regulus said, and backed down. He could see how worked up Severus was. "But you don't know what happened."

Snape questioned his friend with gestures.

"Dumbledore's chucked Sirius out for the rest of the term. Sent him home. Our Mum is going to be furious."

A sneering grin was trying not to escape onto Snape's face.

"It's not funny Sev."

"Oh, yes it is."

"No it's not."

"If you had heard the last thing I heard you brother say today, you'd think it was funny too."

Regulus bit. "What did he say?"

"He was asking Dumbledore if he was going to throw my sorry ass out of Hogwarts. Well, it looks like it's his sorry ass that's out."

There was an outburst of laughter from the rest of the Slytherins who were there, but Regulus still looked worried. "You don't know my mother."

Up in Gryffindor tower another Hogwarts student was getting news of his own mother. "I can't believe this," James Potter said to himself as he looked at the letter the owl had dropped in his lap. He didn't know what to do. His best friend wasn't there to commiserate with him. Remus could be a good listener, but it wasn't the same as Sirius. He was too busy studying anyway. Peter, no Peter was good when one wanted to try out a joke, but for something this important he needed Sirius. He muttered to himself. "I can't believe my Mum is in St. Mungo's."

The only place where peace seemed to be in Hogwarts that night was in the common room near the kitchen. All of the Hufflepuffs slept soundly that night.

tbc