Chapter 39: Helping Slytherins.

With only a few weeks left until the end-of-term exams, Severus did not have much time to speak to Rabastan or the other third-years. Endless revision homework was piled on to them, and every evening the Slytherin common-room was relatively silent, as were all the other common-rooms at Hogwarts. Older students preparing for their OWLS or NEWTS were studying feverishly, and tended to lash out at whoever disturbed them.

Severus found himself inundated with pleas for help from second-year fellow Slytherins, especially in Potions, for which he had achieved quite a reputation. He refused to help anyone, concentrating only on his own homework and studies. He consented to share his work only with Lily when they studied together in the Library; otherwise he sought the quiet of his dungeon hideout whenever other Slytherins got too persistent.

Recently, however, he had to be more careful on his way down to the deepest parts of the dungeons, for he knew his movements had been followed by Rabastan and the other third years, and he didn't want any unwelcome visitors when down there.

Things changed when, one night, while he was trying to force himself to remember the list of articles of Professor Ironwood's regulations and what each of them dealt with, Rosier cornered him in his favourite alcove of the Slytherin common-room, the one which his great-grandfather had carved his initials on.

'There you are,' Rosier drawled, his arm resting on the marble column at the entrance to the alcove. 'Thought you'd disappeared again.'

'It's after curfew, Evan, where d'you want me to go?'

'Oh, I don't know… something as trivial as curfew isn't going to stop you, is it?'

'Stop me from what?' scowled Severus, yet dreading at the same time to hear the answer.

'Stop you from meeting up with Rabastan and his gang.' Rosier grinned suddenly. 'Heard it went well,' he continued.

Severus breathed a silent sigh of relief. He thought for a moment Rosier might have found out about his dungeon hideout.

'What d'you want, Evan? I'm a bit busy with that old cow's stupid subject here, as you can see.'

'Huh – who'd want to bother with Defence against the Dark Arts?' he said superciliously, 'especially you, Severus, you know tons more about Dark Arts than that stupid woman…'

Severus looked up. 'This isn't even Dark Arts, Evan, 'Defence against', or otherwise. However, we still have to pass it to move on.'

'Guess you're right,' Rosier conceded grudgingly. 'However, DADA is not what I wanted to talk to you about. Have you done your Herbology essay for tomorrow?'

Severus nodded, his eyebrows lifted in a frown.

'Well, I haven't finished mine, and what I wrote's pathetic. Second time I haven't finished Sprout's homework, and she's getting a tad unpleasant about it. So, can I have a look at yours?'

'No.'

Rosier straightened up, an angry look passing fleetingly across his haughty face. Severus remembered that Rosier was one of the few who had never asked him for help.

'I saw you today in the Library, Snape –' he said angrily 'you were with that Evans girl from Gryffindor! You share all your work with her, but refuse to help those from your own house!' his voice rose higher, so that some older students nearby looked round.

'Most of them have asked me to do all their homework from scratch!' he retorted angrily. ' They'll never learn that way!'

'Like you'd care about that, Snape!'

Severus looked at him for a moment before replying more calmly: 'You're right, I don't! Or perhaps I just know that that wouldn't work – it'd be too obvious, and we'd be caught out…' his voice rose '…Or perhaps I don't want idiots like Wilkes and Parkinson taking all the credit for the hard work I've put in!'

'But you're ok with the muggle-born girl getting all the credit for your work!' Rosier spat.

Severus rose to his feet. 'It's not like that! I help Lily with Potions, and she helps me out in Charms, cos she's good at that. It's an exchange, that's all!'

Severus could see Rosier struggling to regain his composure.

'Well, there you go.' he said finally, his voice quite calm 'That's what I'm proposing - an exchange. I'll give you something in exchange for helping me finish my essay…'

Severus's attention was caught by one of the older students who had looked up when Rosier started shouting. He recognised the pale, porcelain face of Narcissa Black, her unwavering stare directed straight at him. She did not speak, but held his gaze steadily. He tore his eyes away from hers with difficulty.

'I don't want your money, Evan,' he said tightly. 'Just show me your damned essay, and I'll see what I can do!'

Suppressing a triumphant look, Rosier went to fetch his essay and soon Severus had written him a passable conclusion and re-written some of his weaker paragraphs. It was past midnight when the two boys went to bed, Rosier thanking Severus for saving him from what may have probably earned him a detention.

When Severus woke up the next morning, Rosier's bed was empty, but on his bedside table was a small book entitled 'Poisonous Fungi and their Magical Properties'. Scribbled inside was 'Thanks!' in Rosier's handwriting.

Severus smiled slowly. He knew it was probably an unwanted Christmas gift or something – Rosier was not one to keep books on fungi. However, it was a handsome little book, and Severus liked it.

Neither he nor Rosier mentioned it when he went down to breakfast later on, but from that day on, he consented to help out when other Slytherins asked him to, usually in exchange for some small token like a spare quill, empty parchment, or bottles of ink. He found that this system suited him, for he had no other means of eking out what little pocket money he got from home for such necessities.

In fact, it was very rare that he got even a letter from home, and even less any money. In the few owls he got from his mother, she usually asked him for news about Hogwarts. Though she was never too explicit, he knew what she was after. He invariably told her 'everything was as before' and carefully omitted mentioning anything about the growing reputation of certain students like Rabastan or Lucius Malfoy.

With exams approaching, the requests for help with studying or essays grew accordingly, and he found himself accepting to help out in return for a few knuts, as well as other things. He never actually entirely wrote anyone's homework, insisting that that would be too obvious, but he usually re-wrote and improved whatever anyone presented him with, so that the general level of the finished work represented a fair but enhanced example of that particular student's capabilities. This also had the added advantage of never overshadowing his own work, for few Slytherin second-years could rival his own knowledge, especially in Potions. In fact, it had got to the point where he was helping Avery with his third-year work, in exchange for a considerably larger number of Knuts.

Thus, the last few days flew by and exam week finally arrived. Severus refused any further work at this point, preferring to spend the time by himself studying late into the night, or with Lily in the silence of the Library, looking up last-minute facts before an exam. Sometimes they sneaked off into disused classrooms to practice Charms or Transfiguration before the actual exams, or go over what ingredients were necessary for which potions.

The warm weather of June mocked them, begging them to leave their studies and enjoy lakeside walks or simply lie on the lush, green, grass. As usual, Lily found it harder to resist during this time than Severus, but his impatient voice recalled her down to earth quickly , whenever her mind wandered, and his ability to get her to focus, together with the adrenaline rush of going into an exam, made her get through that week fairly quickly.

They both thought that they had done rather badly in Professor Ironwood's exam, though possibly they had passed it. But other than that, overall, they thought they had done well. Severus liked to discuss his exam papers, so he spent his last week at Hogwarts in the company of Bertram Aubrey and some Ravenclaws who were of the same mind.

Lily, on the other hand, would not tolerate discussing any particular exam for longer than a few hours after she'd done it, so she spent her last, exam- free week flying the school brooms 'one last time' and generally revelling in the sunshine outdoors with Mary McDonald, or Jenny Trimble.

When not discussing exam papers, Severus would creep down to his dungeon hideout to pack away or hide his potion-making implements and books. He also made sure that he would leave no trace behind for anyone to realise that a student had been spending so much time down there. He thought of taking home some small phials of ready-brewed potion, but re-considered when he thought they might be found out by his mother.

The last day arrived, bright and sunny, and there was the usual high-spirited confusion as they boarded the Hogwarts express. Lily had saved a place for Severus, for the train was full, and he seemed even more reluctant than she was, to leave Hogwarts. He lingered on the platform, gazing one last time towards the distant mountains and lake, then he heaved his trunk inside and entered the compartment where Lily was sitting with Alice Walker and some Hufflepuffs.

The train rolled slowly out of the station and headed South through the wild countryside. Lily and Severus sat next to each other in silence, watching the lake disappearing from view. Next to Lily sat Alice, also silent, but with a frown on her face. She kept throwing dirty looks at Severus, who, absorbed by the scene outside the window, noticed nothing.

The Hufflepuff boy sitting in front of them, Frank Longbottom, offered Alice a Chocolate Frog, but she refused grumpily, her eyes still on Severus.

Just then the door to the compartment opened and Rabastan looked in. Alice's eyes widened, her expression aghast. Locating Severus in the corner by the window, he spoke directly to him, ignoring all the rest.

'I won't see be seeing you again this summer, Severus, so I thought of returning this…er… book you lent me.'

He held out his hand and in it was a small book. Severus's expression only flickered for the barest instant. With murmured thanks, he took it in his hand and pocketed it. He hadn't lent him any books – it was probably more of the anti-Ministry publications Rabastan had shown him a couple of weeks ago.

Rabastan's light-brown, tawny eyes held his for a meaningful second, then there was the merest suggestion of a wink and a grin as he nodded and left the compartment without another word.

He was followed almost immediately afterwards by Alice, who, grimacing pointedly at Severus, left the compartment with her nose in the air.

'I'm going to see how Jenny is,' she muttered.

Lily nodded. The Hufflepuffs hadn't noticed anything, but Lily knew what was bothering Alice, and, judging by his scowl, Severus, too, was aware.

'What's that book he gave you?' she asked quietly when the compartment door had closed behind Alice.

'Nothing. Just a book I lent him.'

'Are you – are you friends with Rabastan Lestrange, Sev?' she asked hesitantly.

'Not particularly. Why?'

'Because Alice told me his father is one of Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters. She-'

'And what does that have to do with me?'

'Well, she said he's dangerous. He's got a brother who's out recruiting allies for Lord Voldemort.'

'So he spoke to me! So what? Does that give her the right to look at me like I'm a piece of shit, or something?'

'Severus!' Lily said, indignantly 'Don't say that! Only she thinks that-'

'She's right!' piped up the boy in front of them, who had been listening in. Frank Longbottom's round face was flushed. 'My mother knows the Lestranges. They're really dangerous. They plan to overthrow the Ministry for Magic, and they are acting on You-Know-Who's orders. If that's Rabastan Lestrange, then you should be careful of him!'

'Who asked you to butt in? I'll speak to whoever I please!'

The boy flushed and said nothing else. Lily, who was about to argue with Severus about associating with Rabastan Lestrange stopped when she heard his last words:"I'll speak to whoever I please!" That is what she had said to Alice and the others, more than once when they had told her to stop speaking to Severus. She tried a different tactic.

'It's just that I wouldn't like to see you getting into trouble, Sev. If you don't know this Rabastan well, then perhaps- '

'For Merlin's sake, Lily, I just lent him a book!' he lied, 'I've been helping some Slytherins with their schoolwork that's all.'

'He's in Third-year!'

'So're Avery and Mulciber, but they're also Slytherins, and it was pointed out to me that I should help them too, not only Gryffindor!'

He instantly regretted his snide remark, and expected a sharp retort from Lily. However, she just bit her lip then said in a low voice: 'I know you help me more than I do you, Severus, but you know I would share my work with you whenever you asked me to…'

'It's not that! I ... Never mind,' he said, miserably. They sat in silence for a while, then Lily said:

'Are your parents coming for you at King's Cross?'

He shook his head. He had made enough money to afford a cab from Kings Cross Station to the Leaky Cauldron, where he could use the Floo network. He had exchanged the Knuts for muggle money from a muggleborn Hufflepuff girl a few days before, then owled his mother telling her there was no need for her to come for him, for he would be making his own way home alone.

'I'm catching a cab to the Leaky Cauldron,' he explained.

'Why don't you come with me then? My Mum and Dad are picking me up. We're going the same way, after all.'

Before he could answer, Bertram Aubrey peeked into their compartment.

'Hey, Severus, why don't you come and see what Rosier's doing – he's asking for you.'

More to avoid answering Lily's question, than anything else, Severus followed Bertram out of the compartment and further down the train, where he found Rosier, Wilkes, and Avery using the last few hours wherein they could do magic practicing a Shrinking Spell on some keys.

'Muggle Motorcycle keys,' explained Rosier with a grin 'They shrink when they're put in the keyhole, 'The engine won't start.'

There was appreciative sniggering from some of the onlookers.

'Who do they belong to?' Aubrey asked.

'A group of muggle motorcycle hooligans who stop by our gates and throw empty beer bottles and insults into our garden, before running off,' Rosier answered, his dark blue eyes glinting. 'They're going to see exactly how useless their bikes are, when they're left stranded by our gates!'

'And how do you propose to switch with the shrinking keys, if they take off right away? You're not supposed to use magic.' Severus said, sardonically.

'Oh, it's a very big garden, takes time to get down to the gates, so they linger. Anyway, Severus, I'm the only under-age wizards at home. I have an all-magic family, you know, and that has many advantages. How d'you think I got duplicates of their keys?'

Severus tried to ignore the slight inflection in Rosier's words. He thought how lucky Rosier was to have adult members of his family ready to use magic on his behalf.

He knew his mother had done it once, when his father had tried to stop him going to Hogwarts, but she would never participate in muggle-baiting, probably deeming it dangerous and useless, even when said muggles clearly deserved what they got.

It was much later when he returned to his compartment, and he found Lily had gone off too. Probably listening to what Alice Walker, another Pureblood hypocrite like Potter and his gang, had to say against anyone who dared question her precious Ministry for Magic.

He threw himself down in his seat and reached for the book Rabastan had given him.

It was when they were nearing London that Lily came back. Severus hurriedly put away his book, for it was exactly what he suspected – very anti-ministry, and with proposals for certain changes that even he found quite drastic, though probably effective.

The train slowed down and rolled onto Platform 9 ¾, and everyone scrambled to get their belongings off the train and onto trolleys. Severus followed Lily in a queue of students waiting to be let through the hidden doorway by the conductor into the muggle station beyond.

In the general confusion and noise, Severus had entirely forgotten about Lily's offer, so when John and Rose Evans approached to greet their daughter, he found himself being urged by Lily's parents, as well as Lily herself, to accept a lift home. Rose Evans would not take no for an answer this time, and Severus reluctantly agreed. He had never told his mother what time he would be arriving anyway, he thought, as he helped Lily's father load their school trunks. He knew it would be a longer trip home, but anything that postponed his dreaded homecoming would be welcome.

Lily gave him a quick smile as he got in the back of the car beside her. He remembered that despite everything, he would have Lily all to himself again all summer. The heavy weight that seemed to have settled in his stomach since that morning lifted somewhat, and he smiled back as the Evan's car rolled out of the station area.