Chapter 6
I personally remember you distinctly
Rebecca flung down her arithmancy book. There was such a commotion in the Gryffindor common room that studying was impossible. She could not go up to her dorm either. Lily and James were in there doing heavens knew what.
Since Sirius's apology the year before, all of James's friends had been noticeably nicer to Rebecca, and she had to admit that James was a great guy. Except where Severus was concerned. Ever since Rebecca had come into the common room one midnight to fight James and Lily snogging in front of the fire, Lily had been confiding in her.
She has James, thought Rebecca gloomily, but who do I have? As if in answer, Remus came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her neck, in a combination hug and strangle hold.
"You're pretty strong, aren't you?" he asked.
"What?"
Remus let go of her neck and asked "How strong are you?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. Why?"
He goggled at her. "Have you not heard a word of what we've said?"
"I've been studying."
He sighed. "One of our beaters graduated last year. We need someone to take his place. It's a position that requires quite a bit of arm strength, but you can probably handle it."
Now it was Rebecca's turn to goggle at him. "I've only been to a handful of games in all the years I've been here, I spend all my free time with Severus in the dungeons working on your potion, I've never spent more than a consecutive hour outside in my life, and you're asking me to join the team?"
He smiled. "So you'll do it, then?" She glowered at him, and he dropped his voice to ask, "How is the potion coming, by the way?"
"Slowly. You know that we turned in inconclusive results in Defence last year, but we think we're starting to get something."
Remus nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose he wonders why you're so keen to make this work?"
"We're both having fun working with it. It was actually his idea to keep going this year." Surprise showed plainly on Remus's face.
"So," called James from across the room, "will she do it?"
Remus's eyes begged her. She sighed and murmured, "fine. But if I get myself killed or make a fool of myself, you all owe me big." The room exploded into cheers.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find someplace quiet to study." She left through the portrait hole and started for the library. Halfway there, she changed her mind and turned towards the dungeons.
She paused at the entrance to the Slytherin common room. She knew the password, of course, and Severus knew the Gryffindor password, but neither had ever entered the other's common room alone. Rebecca did not even know for sure that Severus would be there. Throwing caution to the winds, she said clearly, "Salazar." The wall slid open.
She walked into the gloomy candle-lit dungeon room, shivering slightly. It was always cold down here. She liked the cold, but it took a bit of getting used to.
A pair of sixth year girls playing gobstones by the fire glanced up as she entered. "Is Severus here?" asked Rebecca.
Lucius, who was sitting in the corner with star charts spread around him, said "In his room," and motioned dismissively with his hand toward a passageway.
Nervously, Rebecca followed the passage until she came to the door reading "fifth years." This was definitely breaking the rules. A girl in a boys' room - and in another house as well. Lily and James could get away with it; everyone loved them. No one would tell on them. No one had seemed to be bothered by Rebecca's presence, but then, this was Slytherin. One could not expect them to show how they really felt - not to a Gryffindor.
She knocked softly, and the door, which was ajar, swung open. Severus was lying on his bed, studying his Potions book. He glanced up. Shock registered briefly on his face, and he asked "how did you get in here?"
She put on a hurt expression and told him "Lucius pointed me."
He motioned her to sit by him and asked, "what's up?"
She launched into an explanation of how she had been recruited to play beater for the Gryffindor quidditch team. When she was finished, he asked, "do you even know how to play?"
Laughing, she replied, "Yeah, basically. I may be a half-blood, but I was raised as a witch, remember?"
There was a sudden sound of running in the corridor, and another fifth year boy, one of Severus's roommates, hurried in, slamming the door behind him.
"Dumbledore," he panted. "Dumbledore is in the common room. Just thought you might like to know."
Rebecca was shocked. The Headmaster was in the Slytherin common room? As far as she knew, he had never been in any of the house common rooms. There was a knock on the door. They all looked nervously at each other, and the boy opened the door.
Albus Dumbledore stepped in, resplendent in robes of silvery blue. "I think the two of you had better come with me." He motioned to Severus and Rebecca. Numbly, they followed him down the corridor, out of the dungeons, to his office, where he gave the password, ("everyflavor beans") to a stone gargoyle.
When the door was shut behind them, he motioned to them to sit, which they did, rather uncomfortably. "Headmaster, I can explain-" started Severus, but Dumbledore held up a hand.
"There is nothing to explain. I have been watching the two of you very closely for several years. In fact, since the day you were sorted." He closed his eyes thoughtfully. "I found it most interesting that two people who have been sorted into the two houses which have been bitter rivals since Salazar Slytherin left the school can become, and remain, such good friends. I am assuming, of course, that that is all you are?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Rebecca could see Severus nod slowly. "I'm sorry-" she started, but Dumbledore stopped her.
"You do not need to apologize to me. I brought you two here to tell you this: You may very well bridge the gap between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and I encourage you to continue in your friendship. However, I have one caveat. In the future, it would perhaps be wise to stay out of each other's common rooms, hmm?"
Rebecca nodded. The Headmaster actually thought they would bridge the gap? She was walking on eggshells no matter what she did. She had no doubt that the Slytherins would be spreading the story of how she had been caught in Severus's room, and the Gryffindors would likely rescind their offer of the position on the quidditch team.
The Headmaster's voice broke into her thoughts. "You may go."
That night, sure enough, everyone was talking about "that Slytherin Girl" being caught in Severus's room. The stories and rumours were worse than she had feared, and dinner, for her, was a lonely affair. Severus, however, was being congratulated at the Slytherin table, for getting a Gryffindor in so much trouble. No one seemed to realize that she was not in any real trouble.
Back in the common room, she was stopped by a seventh year boy, sneering, "Why don't you just get switched into Slytherin?" Soon she was surrounded by people, laughing and taunting.
"Shut up!" The voice came from the portrait hole. Everyone turned. Remus Lupin was climbing in. He looked furious. "You stupid git!" He yelled at the seventh year, who looked taken aback. "Is it any wonder she hangs out with the Slytherins? Compared to the way you lot are treating her, they look like saints. Look at yourselves! You're condemning her as a Slytherin because you think Slytherins are cruel, but what are you? I have never seen a less tolerant group of people than you lot. I don't blame her. If you treated me the way you have treated her for five years now, I would have left a long time ago. She has more grit for sticking it out than all of us put together. And that is a Gryffindor quality. But you fools are too blind to see that. All you think of is the fact that she is friends with a Slytherin. Have any of you ever taken the time to get to know Severus Snape? No? Then you can't say that he isn't a nicer person than any of you." He held out his hand to Rebecca. She took it. "Come on." He led her through the portrait hole and into an empty classroom.
She buried her face in his robes and sobbed. When she could breath properly again, she looked up into his face and mumbled, "thank you so much."
He stroked her hair. "You'll be all right. I've made myself very unpopular, though, I'm afraid."
"How did you ever come up with all that stuff you said?"
His eyes twinkled. "I've been planning it since last year, when you asked me to stick up for you if something like this ever happened."
She sniffed. "I want you to know that Severus and I didn't-"
He cut her off. "I know. You two sat at opposite ends of his bed. I assume you talked."
Her eyes widened. "How on earth did you know that?"
"I have to show you something," he said guiltily. Out of his pocket he pulled a piece of parchment. It was blank. He tapped it with his wand and stated, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good." Writing fanned across the page.
"It's a map of the school!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah. James, Sirius, Peter and I made it. It shows the people too." He pointed to two black dots labelled "Remus Lupin" and "Rebecca Morgain."
"I wasn't spying on you or anything," he said quickly. I was working on the map, and I noticed you."
She smiled. "Thank you, Remus. If you hadn't come in when you did. . ." She left the sentence unfinished, but he understood.
As he helped her up to go back to Gryffindor tower, she asked him, "do you still think I'll be playing beater?"
He smiled. "If you want to. I know one thing: they will remember distinctly everything I said to them."
