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If Someone Cared Enough
Chapter 125: Are Your Ears Burning?
Severus burned holes in the back of James head with his eyes all through Charms class, not that the oblivious boy had any idea, too consumed in his antics with Sirius. Flitwick had implemented a seating chart for his seventh years, a thinly veiled way to seat Black and Potter up front where they couldn't goof off unseen, not that it didn't stop them from trying. Severus and Lily were seated relatively near the back since they were more than capable of following instructions without supervision.
Unfortunately Severus found his focus on today's assignment unsteady given recent discoveries.
"How the hell are we going to get it away from him?" Severus mused aloud in a hiss of a whisper to Lily.
"Do we even need to, though?" Lily questioned, "It is pretty safe with James, I think and it's doubtful You-Know-Who is going to come for it in the school."
Severus shook his head, "No, but if Tom has pieced together who the three brothers were—which surely he has if mere students like us could—then it wouldn't be a stretch for him to follow the family tree down straight to Potter's family and put two and two together."
"But it isn't like he's heard any rumors of them having the cloak," Lily pointed out, "Until James brought it to school, no one had any clue the Potters even had an invisibility cloak; it was apparently a well-kept secret for years."
"Well, Potter's not keeping it a secret," Severus snapped, "Not enough, at least. His friends know, several of his housemates surely know. I bet Dumbledore knows and by extension some if not all of the staff. It wouldn't be hard for someone to accidentally let that information slip."
Severus sighed, "As it is, I'm not looking to take it from him. Not permanently anyway. Right now, I merely want to examine it to see if it is actually the cloak from the story. After that, I'm not sure what the plan is."
"How will you be able to tell?" Lily asked curiously.
"First I need to read up a bit more on Ignotus Peverell," Severus replied, "Easier said than done with Pince's vendetta against us since the last library visit. But wizards tend to leave a mark, a calling card if you will. Something that signifies their work as their own. An accomplished craftsman who could make a powerful cloak surely would leave his mark on it somewhere to credit himself. Perhaps a signature or an insignia. I mean if I made something so powerful, I'd certainly trademark it in a way so that everyone would know it was I who'd done it and not some other wizard."
Lily pretended to be reading their textbook when Flitwick looked over their section of the class.
"So you think there might be a signature or something on the cloak," she summarized quietly when Flitwick's attention returned to a chuckling James and Sirius.
Severus shrugged, "It's what I'm hoping for at least. As is, I need to examine the cloak to see just what it is made of; I guarantee that a regular cloak carrying some enchantment would never be powerful enough to last so many generations."
"Well good luck getting it away from him," Lily said, "James keeps that thing locked away when not in use from what I hear. Same with the map."
"The map," Severus said thoughtfully, "Now that would prove useful. If we could somehow get both away from him, we could use the map to keep an eye out for Potter while examining the cloak, probably even return it without him ever knowing it was gone. But how to get a hold of those things?"
Someone cleared their throat softly.
"Not to eavesdrop," Remus whispered, leaning over, "But if you're in need of the map and cloak, I could probably be of some assistance."
Severus raised a brow, "Really?"
Remus shrugged, "So long as you fill me in on this whole 'Hallows' thing Nesme told me about. She was pretty vague, something about the Grim Reaper and wands and pebbles, but she said it was vital to stopping You-Know-Who."
Severus tsked; of course Nesme was barely paying attention. Girl was a disaster to research anything with most of the time.
"Deal," Severus said, "Switch with Lily for prefect rounds after curfew tonight and walk with me. We'll talk then."
Turning his attention back to class, Severus eyed Remus two buffoonish friends in the front row being scolded by Flitwick for turning their notes into enchanted paper airplanes, neither boy looking the least bit guilty.
"Surprised you're back here with us, Lupin," Severus noted, "Would have thought you'd be up there with your friends."
"Well you're my friend too," Remus replied easily, "Honestly though, Flitwick didn't want them cheating off my papers. Peter has to suffer their antics alone, I'm afraid."
The aforementioned timid boy certainly did look put off, side eyeing his immature pals with annoyance as they readied another paper airplane as soon as Flitwick's back was turned. He swatted James hand away when the latter reached for one of his papers, hunkering down protectively over his notes and glaring at the Potter heir's smile of innocence.
"And you don't mind not getting to sit with your…" Severus searched for the right word for Sirius and Remus's relationship, "Other half?"
Remus chuckled at Severus discomfort, "Believe it or not, some people actually need a break from their partners now and again. We're not all attached at the hip like you two are."
Lily smiled to herself and blushed while Severus looked away awkwardly.
"Sirius needs me differently than he needs James," Remus explained, "I'm who he goes to for comfort, but James…James is who he needs when he just wants to not think about things too hard."
He stared pityingly at the back of Sirius head.
"So he's still struggling with Regulus's death," Lily surmised. Even as she said it, Severus could tell she felt guilty about them leaving Sirius and Remus in the dark about Reg. But it couldn't be helped, even with all the trust they put in Remus, it was too risky to let him know the truth. He might feel compelled to reveal it just to ease Sirius's pain.
Remus nodded, "He doesn't show it often, but it's hard for him to not see Regulus in the halls, to not bicker with him or know he's only a floor or two away. Even when they became estranged they were still part of each other's lives thanks to school. He talks to me when it starts to weigh on him, cries when he needs to."
"But sometimes he just wants a distraction, a way to forget about all that, if only for a moment," Remus explained, "James is the perfect outlet for that. Impulsive, childish games come as natural to him as breathing and they provide Sirius with the distraction he needs to escape reality."
"Running away from reality rather than facing it isn't exactly the healthiest thing to do though," Severus pointed out.
Remus just shook his head, a wistful smile on his face, "Yeah, but I can't say I blame him for wanting to do that; much of my friendship with all of them was an escape from acknowledging the 'condition' I'm stuck with for the rest of my life. It was a chance for me to pretend things were normal. I can't fault Sirius for wanting to do the same from time to time."
"It's not really escapism," Remus said, "So much as an unfocused coping mechanism. Substituting the sad feelings with happy events that make you smile. I oftentimes use memories of my friends to help me stay positive during those beginning hours in the shack each month. In time, Sirius will be able to think of happy things when Regulus comes to mind. That's my hope anyway."
"Marcus mentioned something like that to me before," Severus said, speaking of his therapist, "Sort of anyway. He says that thinking of the good in your life helps make dealing with the bad a little easier."
James's newly constructed airplane soared through the sky before taking an unexpected dive and smacking Flitwick in the face just as he turned towards them, the diminutive teacher toppling off his stack of books with a startled squeak.
Several students laughed while others shouted out in alarm. James for his part looked suitably mortified, no doubt worried how this debacle would affect his position as Head Boy.
Sirius was beside himself with laughter.
"Professor!" Lily exclaimed in horror, rushing out of her seat to assist the poor educator. A few other students joined in, including Mary and surprisingly Meldonna.
The sight of one-half of the snobby duo had Severus searching out the other one, finding Jess still seated among the second row. Arms folded over her chest, the slightest raise of both her eyebrows was the only indication she felt even the smallest bit of concern for Flitwick's predicament. Not that it would have mattered; Jess could be beside herself with worry for the tiny teacher and she still wouldn't bring herself to go over there while Mary stood by his side.
It was still an ongoing matter of contention in the Gryffindor girls dorm. From what Lily told him, Jess and Mel switched frequently between freezing Mary out—and Lily by association—derisive comments, and backhanded compliments intended to pick apart a girl's self-esteem.
When they weren't pretending Lily was invisible to them, they were trying to monopolize her time in the dorms and halls to isolate Mary as punishment for her perceived slight against Jess.
Severus took a closer look at the seated girl. This year she had forgone any attempts at a natural look and had immersed herself in makeup that screamed anything but subtle. Dark kohl rimmed her eyes with thick, obviously magically fake and full lashes fanning her cheeks every time she blinked. Her eyeshadow was thankfully not as thick as her mascara, but it still would be better suited for a nighttime look, the azure blue with golden tints towards the inner part of the eyelid seeming too dressy for a mid-morning class. Her lips, the pout accentuated by a heavy lip liner to create an illusion of plumpness, stood out in a lacquer of wine red, again too dark for a casual look.
Jess was not an ugly girl by any means, her looks catching quite a few boys' eyes over the years, coupled with her fair skin and slim figure. However, Severus always found it hard to find beauty in someone who's personality was so unappealing. In hindsight, there was irony to that, as he himself was not terribly unattractive, but his bad attitude made him anything but appealing in previous years. Still, that was how he''d viewed beauty for years. It was why he once struggled to understand the appeal to James Potter. The boy's arrogant, egotistical attitude and overall cruelty robbed him of any decent qualities in Severus eyes.
Petunia had once seemed quite atrocious to Severus in their youth due to her behavior. Her slender form and average features were by no means hideous, but the scowl so firmly set in place on her face only seemed to over exaggerate her prominent front teeth and dulled her eyes. Her new outlook on life did wonders for her appearance, her laugh being contagious and warm, her sass clever yet never cruel.
Kingsley said the most magnetic, attractive feature to Petunia was her confidence.
Severus looked at Jess again, taking in her perfectly styled hair and gleaming jewelry. The whole ensemble wasn't unattractive, per say, but certainly out of place in the classroom and overall very fake. It was not a delicate or authentic look and it just came across as Jess trying far too hard to prove to herself that she was desirable.
Severus almost felt bad for the girl. He honestly doubted Jess's feelings for James were genuine, but it was clear she'd convinced herself that what she felt was real love. In truth she was probably more in love with the fairytale ideal of romance, of being the princess swept away by a handsome, popular, and wealthy prince. James certainly fit the part, but it wasn't like Jess had actually fallen for the childish, impish, and impulsively short sighted boy hiding beneath the looks and family reputation.
It would take a special sort of saint to love James exactly as he was. Every last stubborn, insincere, and reckless inch of him.
Still, Jess at the very least believed James loved her. It had to have been a self-esteem boost to think that the much sought after James Potter had been seduced away from his obsession with Lily. After all, no one else had ever swayed his feelings from the girl he placed on a pedestal.
Of course, Jess had no way of knowing that James sudden transference of love to her was merely a ploy to get Lily's attention and nothing more. And then to be under the impression that James had fallen out for love with Jess for Mary, Lily's buxom best friend, surely left some dents in Jess's so impeccably maintained shield of aloofness.
Severus had to wonder if Jess new look was a desperate attempt at recapturing Potter's attention, not that she ever truly had it in the first place.
As if sensing someone's eyes on her, Jess glanced in Severus direction, scowling when she spotted him. A dramatic sneer stretching her face, complete with exaggerated lip curl, she turned abruptly away from him, arms crossed.
Yep, no amount of makeup could cover for her rotten personality, though perhaps it was hypocritical of Severus to think that given his own looks hampered by his less than kind disposition over the years.
"She still hates you, hm?" Remus asked, peering around Severus at Jess, "She just won't let go of her biases."
Severus shook his head with a sigh, "It seems she blames me for everything falling apart for her."
"Well of course you're to blame," Remus commented with a playful smile, "You're a nasty, slimy Slytherin."
Severus snorted, "She probably is under some delusion that if Lily never forgave me, things would have stayed the same in their merry little circle and Potter still would have somehow fallen for her." He scoffed again, "As if he would have set his sights on anyone other than Lily."
"What about me?" Lily asked as she returned to her seat. She and the others had set Flitwick to rights standing on his stack of books again, though he appeared a little shaken.
"Just about Jess's delusional belief that everything is my fault and that what she and Potter had was genuine," Severus drawled.
Lily rolled her eyes, "She's been insufferable since school started. Either she's my worst enemy for not taking her side or she's my best friend trying to keep me from Mary. The whole thing is getting exhausting."
"Glad I'm not a girl," Severus mused, "At least what makes a guy insufferable is usually that they're a moron or an oversexed buffoon. With girls you have normal sane women pitted against infantile, high pitched giggling gossips."
Lily shoved Severus slightly, "Gee thanks for saying some of us are sane; otherwise it would have been sexist."
Remus winced exaggeratedly, nudging Severus, "Ooh, that's some heavy sarcasm, in case you couldn't tell."
Severus raised his hands in a placating gesture, "You both know what I meant. In men, brains are a scarcity these days, especially with dolts like those two being praised as top of the food chain."
He pointed to where James and Sirius sat, fighting back childish smirks as Flitwick read them the riot act.
"Then there's women," Severus said, "Whom in all my experiences with them, are apparently the smarter, more crafty of the genders and you deal with a small margin of ladies who infuriatingly want to act like a caricature of a sexist stereotype."
He gestured towards Jess and the now seated Meldonna, "Shallow, vapid twits who think more about sparkles and shiny things than they do about the bigger picture. It has to be exhausting to put up with someone degrading their gender when it happens to be your gender as well."
"And of course, they're the ones who get the most attention because they cry out for it, so of course people view women as a whole as gossipy nags obsessed with makeup and marriage," Lily sighed.
She glared at her two dormmates, "If it weren't for girls like them, Witches Weekly would be posting about career goals and self-made women instead of dribble like the ten most eligible wizard bachelors."
"Am I on that list?" Severus asked teasingly.
Lily bopped him with her quill.
"We're really very sorry, Professor," James's voice came from the front of the classroom, "I can't tell you how awful we feel. Are you sure you're alright."
Severus snorted, "His acting is improving—marginally at least. I almost believe he's contrite."
"Well he probably does feel bad about how this makes him look as Head Boy," Remus pointed out, "At least that concern is genuine."
Flitwick frowned down at his two most troublesome students, "I am quite alright, Mr. Potter. But you were both warned of engaging in such antics in my classroom. This behavior is unacceptable, especially at your age."
"Really now," he went on, "I'd expect this sort of tomfoolery from first years, but not seventeen year olds about to make their way in the world. I'm afraid I will have to report this to your head of hou—"
"Actually Professor," Sirius interjected quickly, "That plane was mine. All of them were."
Flitwick looked at Sirius with a mix of surprise and suspicion, "Oh?"
"James told me not to do it," Sirius lied, "I kept waiting for when his back was turned to make any. This is all my fault, not his."
James was looking at Sirius as if his friend was God, some holy, blessed relic come down to grace him with good fortune.
Remus sighed, "Of course he'd take the fall."
Severus wasn't surprised either, "They can't use James status to their advantage all year if it gets revoked within the first two months."
Flitwick glanced skeptically at James, then Sirius, "Well…thank you for your honesty, Mr. Black, but I'm afraid I'll be forced to take points from Gryffindor. Twenty points, in fact."
Most of the Gryffindors groaned, glaring at Sirius for damaging their chances for the House Cup. It left Ravenclaw surpassing them by a mere six points now.
Sirius didn't looked at all bothered by their scorn; it was doubtful that student peer pressure affected him at all after putting up with far worse judgement and criticism from his own family. In fact, Sirius seemed to relish annoying others by giving as little fucks as possible.
Sirius sat back down, giving James a grin and a nod when Flitwick wasn't looking. Turning around in his seat, he winked at Remus.
Remus flushed red, "Cheeky brat."
"He enjoys riling you up," Severus noted, "Like an misbehaving child who thinks even bad attention is better than no attention so long as it means you're looking at him."
"He just likes to see me flustered," Remus defended, sinking down into his chair, "He thinks I'm 'cute' when I'm mad."
Severus cocked a brow, "Really? Lily is downright terrifying."
He barely bit back the yelp of pain that rose in his throat when Lily kicked him under the table.
When class was finally over, Severus hung back with Lily as they gathered their books, sending Remus to lure James away before the bespectacled boy could set his sights on them. Severus wasn't in the mood to entertain James paltry attempts at friendship, so he greatly appreciated Remus's help in playing interference whenever possible.
"Do you think Xenophilius has any information or theories regarding the Hallows aside from what he read in the story?" Lily asked.
Severus shrugged, "It's possible. He's a firm believer of the legend being true if that necklace he wore was anything to go by. What was it he said? Something about the necklace being a sign to other believers that he's questing for the Hallows as well?"
Lily nodded, "He's convinced the items exist, so perhaps he's narrowed down some ideas of his own on their whereabouts or origin."
"And since we were not 'believer' because we were oblivious of the Hallows when we asked, he probably would have deliberately kept that information from us and just told us the fairytale," Severus surmised.
Lily ignored Jess and Mel's glares as Mary came over.
"Talking about the Hallows?" Mary asked quietly, pretending not to hear the hissed insult Jess hurled at her before leaving.
Yep," Lily replied, "Those two still giving you trouble?"
Mary rolled her eyes, "Just the same old same old. They're still pissed I'm Head of the prefects with James; as if I wanted to spend my time patrolling with him while you guys get all the fun. Looking up legendary items; you guys get all the cool stuff."
"This endeavor is its own kind of headache, I assure you," Severus told her, "It took us ages to sort through family trees before we even found the connection between the brothers and the Gaunts. And I'm officially on Pince's least favorite person's list thanks to my outburst."
Mary snickered, "I heard it was pretty funny."
Severus scowled, "You weren't on the receiving end of her wrath."
"So what are you guys up to now?" Mary asked, merrily changing the subject to irritate Severus, "Something about that Xeno guy?"
"We're wondering if he has any theories or findings on the Hallows that could be useful to us. Like maybe the location of the stone, if Riddle hasn't already found it," Severus said.
"You think the stone was passed down all the way to Marvolo Gaunt, then?" Mary asked.
Severus nodded, "It would explain why the symbol bore so much significance to Morfin in his madness. It's the insignia of the ring that Albus believes is one of the horcruxes. If the brother's themselves came up with the symbol for the Hallows, then that means the ring was most likely passed down through the family; the stone could have been too."
"Wouldn't it make more sense to look up the Gaunt house?" Mary asked curiously.
Severus turned to her, "What do you mean?"
Mary shrugged, "Well that house was all carved up with the Hallows symbol. Maybe there's more significance to it than just Morfin going crazy. Maybe he did it because he had the stone. Maybe it's hidden in the house or something."
Severus paused, "That's actually a good point. There's a method to madness; a purpose that eludes the sane while make perfect sense to the madness. What if Morfin was sending a message to others; that he held one of the items said to master death?"
"We need the research we collected on Riddle," Severus told Lily and Mary, "The murders of Riddle's father and grandparents; that town is where Gaunt lived."
Anyone think they'll manage to get the cloak away from James? LOL
Review please.