The Marauders: In the Beginning
Chapter Three: Snape Slips Up
Disclaimer: All characters are the creations of J. K. Rowling and not me.
A/N: Another encounter with Snape is ahead, and we witness a very different, rarely-seen side of Lupin. (Just a minor warning - there may be a few mistakes, as I had a bit of difficulty trying to write measurements for Potions in metric system rather than standard!) =\
The next day was dark and overcast. When James opened his eyes, he could hear Sirius was already awake and moving about. He chose a pair of jeans and a scarlet sweater, got changed, and opened up the red velvet curtains around his bed.
"Good morning," Sirius muttered sleepily. James yawned something that Sirius guessed was a response.
A few of the other boys were still asleep, so James and Sirius walked quietly down the staircase, made their way through the Gryffindor common room, and headed for the Great Hall where breakfast was being served.
Soon enough, they began discussing the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and were well into the conversation by the time they passed the Slytherin table. Severus Snape eyed them angrily.
"Enjoy detention this evening," he said icily, standing up.
James and Sirius halted at the sound of Snape's voice. James turned on his heel, looking Snape straight in the eye, and said a little too loudly, "I'm sure we will, thanks. It's far beyond worth it - especially after what happened yesterday."
"Bye!" Sirius waved cheerfully as he and James continued towards the Gryffindor table.
A few students from the other houses laughed as they saw this, but Snape was seething with anger. He stared after them, his face showing nothing less than utter disgust and loathing. He sat back, brow furrowed, in deep thought. But his gaze never left Potter and Black.
"What was that all about?" Snape heard someone at the Gryffindor table ask.
"Nothing worth mentioning, Remus," Sirius practically yelled, with a glance in Snape's direction. He and James sniggered to themselves.
"So, feeling any better today?" James inquired. Remus appeared to be in far worse condition than he had been the previous day; his face was twice as pale, and there were dark circles under his eyes. But there was less visible weakness and anxiety about him, and he smiled as he replied, "Yes, a little."
"I think I'm going to be sick now," Sirius moaned, gazing sadly at the schedule sitting atop a pile of Remus' textbooks. "Double Potions this morning with Slytherin!" He brought his head down on the table in front of him with a loud clunk. His nose landed on his empty plate.
Breakfast appeared on James' plate. Toast, bacon, and eggs. He reached for his goblet, which was now filled with orange juice.
"It won't be so bad," James said, although he clearly didn't believe it himself. Sirius hit his forehead on the table again. Clunk.
"You're going to give yourself a headache," Remus commented. Sirius smacked his head again. "With any luck," he said, "I'll - clunk - give myself brain damage - clunk - and be excused from Potions."
Just then, Sirius' plate filled itself with pancakes, sausage, and scrambled eggs. A final clunk and his forehead was dipped in maple syrup.
Later that morning, in Potions, Sirius was weighing ingredients while James read them off of a list. "Sixty three grams of dried nettles," James read. Sirius placed a pile of them on the scale. "Sixty three grams," he repeated. "...Got it." He added them to the mixture in the cauldron.
"Eighty seven and a half grams of crushed beetle eyes," said James.
"Eighty seven... and a half," Sirius said as he measured the right amount. He swept the fine black powder into the mixture as well. "Check."
James stared at his list. "Now it says thirty point one nine two six five four three seven nine one three grams of porcupine quills," he instructed.
"Right," Sirius murmured. "Thirty point one nine two... six five... four - blimey, what - !?"
He turned around and glared at James, who was overcome with laughter. He snatched the list and looked at it himself: porcupine quills, thirty one grams.
"Give that back!" James said, struggling to catch his breath.
"Read the list right this time!"
"Lighten up."
"Nope, can't." Sirius was still in quite a bad mood. He glared over the top of the brass scales at Snape, who had finished adding his ingredients. He was saying something to the person sitting beside him, but his empty, cold black eyes were fixed on James and Sirius, his mouth curled into the bitter sneer that usually resided there.
Suddenly, Snape transferred his gaze from James and Sirius, who were sitting in the middle of the room, to a desk in the back where only one person sat - Remus. He glanced at the teacher, a middle-aged woman in a purple cloak. She was busy helping a Gryffindor girl named Hyacinth Brownwell to crush a pile of viper fangs, so it was safe to leave his seat.
"You," he said as he approached. Remus looked up. "Yes?"
"Look at that," James muttered to Sirius. Snape was saying something to Remus. "What's he up to?" Sirius asked, narrowing his eyes.
James shook his head. "Can't hear what they're saying. We need to get back there."
Hyacinth was still talking to the teacher, Professor Wormwood. James and Sirius got up quietly and pretended to be searching the back cabinets for another ingredient. "Sea slugs," Sirius said, unconvincingly, looking over his shoulder towards Remus and Snape. "Sea slugs... sea slugs... where were they..."
"What do you mean, you don't know?" Snape was hissing. Remus got up, nearly knocking over the bench he'd been sitting on. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Severus," he said as calmly as he could, his eyes locked on the greasy-haired boy in front of him, as if he could make Snape wither under the intensity of his furious glare.
James and Sirius had quit pretending to search for sea slugs, and turned around to face Snape. "What's your problem?" Sirius asked. Some of the other students were beginning to stare. Snape's eyes flickered upward as he glanced over Remus' shoulder, but only for a moment. "You have something that belongs to me, Lupin, and I demand to know where it is. Tell me!"
"Leave him alone, Snape," James said menacingly. "He never did anything to you."
"Oh?" Snape was looking at James now. "And why should I listen to you, Potter? You think you're something, don't you? Potter, everyone's favorite. But you haven't got me fooled." He was savoring these words, as if he'd wanted to say them for a long time, despite the fact that he'd only known James Potter for a couple of weeks. "I think you're simply too afraid to come over here yourself - and then, you expect me to take you seriously when all you and your little friend do is hide behind this repulsive, sickening little wretch?"
Remus looked as if he'd been smacked in the face. He did something that was highly uncharacteristic of him: he lunged forward at Snape, hands outstretched, and caught the front of Snape's robes with surprising force. James and Sirius had to pull him away before he got himself into trouble, but Remus was trembling with rage. None of them had ever seen him like this.
"Enough," Professor Wormwood was saying. "Break it up! Now!"
Remus ignored her. "You've made a very big mistake," he said. "Take it back."
Snape took a step back. "You can't deny the truth, Lupin, you'll always be a weakling--"
"No!" Remus roared, breaking loose of James' and Sirius' grasp. The two exchanged glances. Remus seized Snape by the arm, enraged. "You take back what you said about them!" he snarled maliciously. "Take it back or..."
Professor Wormwood was hurrying to the back of the room. "Enough!"
"Remus, stop," James said quietly. "Look at what you're doing."
He fell silent. His eyes widened as he looked down at his hands, still clutching Snape's arm. He loosened his grip, and Snape shook Remus away, backing off slowly. He then strolled leisurely back to his seat, an evil smile on his face. He had succeeded.
"What'd you do that for?" Sirius whispered. "We were about to see Snape get pounded--"
He stopped. Remus was running his hands through his hair, eyes wide with shock. "What's gotten into me?" he whispered frantically. "What's gotten into me?"
Professor Wormwood seemed unsure how to react. "Gentlemen, what is the meaning of all this?" she demanded. Remus was in deeper shock that she was. He didn't look up, and he didn't respond when the teacher spoke to him. James and Sirius were glaring at Snape. He wasn't about to speak up and take the blame... but someone was going to have to.
"It's my fault," James said. Professor Wormwood stared at him strangely.
"I could have sworn that what I saw was--"
"It's my fault," he repeated. "Sna- er, Severus was trying to talk to Remus, but I had to open my mouth. None of it would have happened if I'd kept quiet." Sirius' jaw dropped.
"Mr. Black, is this true?"
With indignation in his voice, Sirius replied, "No!" as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Well, if no one will tell me what this was all about, then I'm going to have to take five points from Gryffindor. Each." Everyone's faces reflected mixed emotions: The Gryffindors looked confused, the Slytherins were smirking, Remus was in shock, Sirius was glaring at Snape as though he was responsible for an atrocious crime, and Professor Wormwood was torn between anxiety and anger. James was trying to remain as calm as possible.
"Ha!" Snape laughed aloud. Professor Wormwood turned on him. "And Severus!" she scolded. "Five points from Slytherin."
"That's not fair! Why--"
"Class is dismissed," said Professor Wormwood, who was looking at a silver pocketwatch. "I shall be talking to the Headmaster Dumbledore about this." With a swish of her wand, all the scales, cauldrons, and ingredients that had been left out on the tables vanished, to be stored elsewhere until the next class.
Remus gathered up his things and hurried from the room, with James and Sirius following close behind him. "Remus! Wait up!" Sirius called out. "Wait up, will you?"
"I don't know what came over me," Remus lied. Of course he knew. Tonight was the night of the full moon. But the attacks had never hit him so hard before. He'd never gotten so out of control.
"Yeah, well, we're not worried about Snape," Sirius said. He and James were trotting alongside Remus now. "And you definetly don't need to worry about us. But are you okay?"
Remus stopped, and so did James and Sirius. "I can take care of myself," he insisted. He resumed walking, but wasn't pursued. "Yes," said James, as he and Sirius, in a daze, watched him go. "We seem to have established that."
James and Sirius walked slowly back to the common room, allowing themselves a bit of time to cool down.
They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Cygnus," James said.
"You would be correct." The Fat Lady, who was quite young, with dark hair and a light pink dress, swung open on her hinges to reveal the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. Remus was lying on the couch and staring up at the ceiling.
Sirius caught James' eye, and they exchanged worried glances. Sirius took a deep, steadying breath. "Well," he said wearily. He and James sat down in nearby chairs and looked into the fire that was blazing on the hearth. "...That was intense."
Remus finally sat up, blinked a couple of times, and grinned weakly.
A/N: *whew!* A longer chapter than usual, and rather more intense also. There's a lot less humor in this chapter, obviously, and a bit more drama. Fear not, there's plenty of both yet to come. Please, read & review to let me know what you think!
