Chapter 19: Gryffindor vs Slytherin

Summary: Severus watches the quidditch match with his friends.

Notes: Hello, everyone. I'm sorry I kept you waiting. This chapter took a long time to write. You'll know why when you read it. Please let me know what you think.

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The entire school was buzzing with excitement. It was the quidditch match of the year, Gryffindor against Slytherin. For the first time Severus was as excited as the rest of his house to watch the game. Ever since Christmas and his flying lesson with Mr. Potter he was a lot more into quidditch and watching a live match was certainly going to be a lot of fun. Unlike his housemates though, he didn't care that their team was playing against Slytherin.

It was because of the game that Severus didn't notice Remus' mood until later in the day. The boy always got anxious and restless right before he left to visit his mother and afterwards he was exhausted. It made Severus uneasy, thinking about what was happening to his friend. Whenever Remus got like that, he became anxious too. He knew he shouldn't say anything; Remus obviously didn't want them to find out but it was too much.

"Are you alright, Remus?" he blurted out as they were leaving for the quidditch pitch.

Remus flinched. "What?" he asked, taken aback.

Severus sighed. "You seem nervous." he said.

"I'm nervous about the game." lied Remus. "Our team is good and all but it won't be an easy one."

Severus frowned. He looked down, focusing on his steps. "Are you going home tonight?" he asked a moment later, unable to stop himself.

"What?" Remus stopped in his tracks. "How did you …" he trailed off and took a deep breath to steady himself. "I am going home. My mother's illness is gotten worse. How did you know?"

Severus bit his lip. "You get moody right before you leave and you're drained and tired when you come back." he said.

Remus paled at once. "I … I don't know what you're talking about." he said. His hands were shaking.

"You're the one who's sick, aren't you?" whispered Severus.

The other boy's eyes widened. He looked shell shocked, staring at Severus with a mixture of horror and suspicion.

"Are you two coming? We're going to miss the beginning." called James. He was standing a few feet away with Sirius and Peter.

Remus was the first one to react. "Sorry, we didn't mean to keep you." he said in a shaky voice and ran to where the others were waiting without a backwards glance.

Severus followed after him. They made their way to the stands and found a few empty seats. Remus made a point of choosing a spot as far away from him as possible, leaving him to sit between James and Peter.

"Are you guys fighting?" asked James curiously.

"I guess." answered Severus with a sigh. He felt horrible. He should have kept his mouth shut. What if Remus never talked to him again?

As the game started, Severus tried to sneak a peek at his friend a couple of times, but it wasn't easy with James and Sirius jumping up and down in their sits as they cheered for the team and Remus pointedly ignoring him. After a while he gave up and turned his attention to the game.

Slytherin scored fairly quickly and kept getting points while Gryffidor tried to catch up. It got boring after a while, so Severus focused on the seekers, admiring their speed and precision as they zoomed about the field, looking for the snitch. The little winged ball showed up right above the Gryffindor goals. Both seekers went after it but then it disappeared again. The next time, it was seen near the ground. The Gryffindor seeker was closer. He lunged after it but the snitch started to fly upwards. The other seeker, who was lowering her broom suddenly changed direction, controlling the broom with incredible ease and caught the golden snitch just as the other player was reaching for it.

Severus jumped to his feet and cheered. It was absolutely amazing!

"Jason missed the snitch, you idiot." James snapped at him.

"I know. Didn't you see how Clare changed directions and caught it?"

"You're cheering for the other team? What is wrong with you?" Peter chimed in.

Looking from Peter's angry face to James' equally pissed up expression, Severus blushed and looked down in embarrassment. He stayed subsided as they left the stands and got inside the castle, listening to his friends insulting the Slytherin players. He tried to catch Remus' eyes but the boy was still ignoring him.

It wasn't until they reached their dorm that all the attentions turned to him once more.

"What were you doing, cheering for the Slytherins?" asked James, more annoyed than angry now.

"It was a good catch. I got excited." answered Severus defensively.

"It doesn't matter if it was a good catch or not. You're a Gryffindor. Your job is to cheer your own team, no matter what."

Severus shrugged. "I just wanted to see a quidditch game. I don't care who won."

"We lost the quidditch cup! To Slytherins no less."

"What's the big deal?" retorted Severus.

James looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "You're really clueless, aren't you?" he snapped.

"The Slytherins are evil! All of them." said Sirius.

"No, they're not!"

"Is that what your friend Evan has told you?" asked Remus, his tone laced with sarcasm and resentment.

Severus looked at him in surprise. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, truly baffled.

Remus didn't answer and looked away.

"It means you're too chummy with him." said James. "He's a Slytherin. You shouldn't be friends with someone like that."

"Evan is nice. He's a good friend. I don't care what house he's in."

"He may look nice on the outside but he's try to take advantage of you." said Sirius.

"That's not true. He's not trying to do anything. He's my friend."

"He is. You just don't see it."

Severus paused, looking from Sirius to James and back again. "Are you saying I'm stupid?" he accused.

James shrugged. "Well …" he started to say.

"We're not saying that. You're … you're naïve." Sirius cut him off. "You want to be friends with everyone. Trust me, you don't want to be friends with the wrong bunch."

"I don't need you to tell me what to do. I can be friends with whoever I want!"

"You're our housemate. We've got to look after you."

"Look after me?!" said Severus in disbelieve, then frowned, remembering something. "You tripped Evan on purpose the other day, didn't you? You said it was an accident but it wasn't." Sirius' guilty look was answer enough. "I don't believe you! You're bullying him just because he's friends with me after you promised not to do that again."

The silence stretched in the room as Severus glared at the taller boy. He couldn't remember being this angry in his entire life.

The door suddenly opened and McGonagall stepped in, seemingly unaware of the tension in the room. "Are you ready Mr. Lupin?" she asked.

Remus turned to look at him for the first time. He turned around after a moment and followed the Professor out of the room. Severus felt all of his energy draining at once and lower himself on his bed. Julie took that as cue to climb into his lap and started meowing, asking for attention. Severus stared at her. He remembered the day Sirius had given him the cat, the same day the boy had promised to change. He didn't want to have anything to do with Julie anymore.

Julie didn't give up. She kept meowing and rubbing her head on his chest, pleading to be petted. Severus felt his resolve melting away. He put his arms around her and stroked her soft fur.

"You promised." he whispered, his eyes filling with tears.

"I know. I'm sorry. I get angry sometimes and I just …" Sirius whispered back. "I won't do it again."

Severus didn't say anything; afraid he might burst into tears if he spoke. He turned his back on his roommates and lay down, still holding Julie. He must have fallen asleep like that because the next morning, he woke up still laying on his side. Julie had moved away during the night though and was now dozing under the bed. Severus let her be and went down to the common room to sit next to the fire.

No one else was there, since it was still early and a Sunday. As he sat in silence, his thoughts turned to what had happened last evening. He realized, no matter what he did he was never going to fit in. He was too different.

He was too deep in thought that he vaguely noticed someone entering the common room and sitting next to him.

"Hey" said Remus quietly.

Severus turned to look at him. The boy had dark bags under his eyes and there was a new scar on his temple. He wanted to ask Remus if he was OK, but bit his lip to stop himself. "Hey." he whispered instead.

"I just wanted you to know, nobody thinks you're stupid." said Remus.

Severus snorted. "James and Sirius do." he retorted.

"They're wrong. I think it's great that you have so many friends."

"You don't like Evan."

"It's not that I don't like him, exactly." said Remus, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "I think I'm jealous of him."

Severus frowned. Trying to understand "Why?" he asked.

"Because you always want to hang out with him."

"Why would that make you jealous? You and I hang out all the time. We sleep in the same room and study together and sit in class together, except for potions."

"I know it's ridiculous but I'm not good at making friends like you. You're my best friend and I thought I was yours."

"Of course you're my best friend, Remus!" exclaimed Severus. "I came to Gryffindor because of you."

"What do you mean?"

"You were sorted first and you went to Gryffindor, so I told the hat to send me there, too. It said I's do better in Slytherin or Ravenclaw but sorted me in Gryffindor anyways." he explained.

"Oh." was all Remus said in response.

They sat in silence for a few minutes until Remus spoke again. "You were right. My mother is not sick; it's me. It gets bad every few weeks but then it gets better. I've been like this since I was a child." he said.

"Do you scratch yourself because you're in pain?" asked Severus pointing to the other boy's temple.

Remus touched the scar self-consciously and nodded.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you guys wouldn't understand."

Severus turned in his seat and pulled the other boy in a tight hug. "I could come with you." he whispered.

"No!" snapped Remus, pulling away. "Don't ever do that."

"Why not?"

"I told you, you wouldn't understand!"

"But I do! I was sick for a while, too." said Severus. "I was in the hospital for three years."

"What happened?" asked Remus, surprised.

"I don't know. I don't remember how I ended up there but I was in a coma." said Severus. He felt the words pouring out of him. He had never talked about this with anyone. "They said I had an accident and hit my head. They gave me a potion to stop me from aging while I was unconscious. That's why I look like this! That's why I'm so small. I'm three years younger than the rest of you. I turned nine just last month." he was breathing heavily now and tears were running down his chicks.

Remus reached a hand and gently whipped away his tears. "I don't know why the hat told you, you'd do better in another house. You're very brave." he said. There was sadness in his voice.

"It's nice to have someone visit you when you're sick. I always got so happy when my mom came to visit. I'll come see you if you want." offered Severus.

Remus bit his lip. "I don't really want anyone with me at night. Maybe you could come see me in the infirmary in the morning, while everyone else is still asleep?" he asked shyly.

Severus nodded and smiled. He felt a heavy weight off of his shoulders.

"Want to go to breakfast? I'm starving." said Remus and practically dragged him out of the common room, even though he was still in his pajamas.