-Pov Gryffindor
"Hmm, well, now for one last duel. Let's see how the Prince family does again," said the professor suddenly as he read out a sheet of paper with the names of the students.
"Draco Prince and Severus Prince!"
When Professor Harvey said these two names, Draco, Hermione and Lily couldn't believe it.
Hermione and Draco had already had a rather awkward time in the morning having to explain their history as Severus' distant cousins to Lily and her friends along with their boyfriends.
It was shitty of Severus to do that to them, but they both knew it could be worse, like now that the professor was making their lives more difficult...
"Snivellus is a Prince?" asked James in surprise.
"Wait, so... He's your cousin?" asked Sirius.
Hermione and Draco sighed, it was going to be a hassle explaining everything to the marauders.
But they weren't the only ones, few Gryffindors knew that Severus and they were cousins, so everyone had questions to ask them.
Hermione was the one who had the hardest time as Draco quickly went to the dueling platform in order to avoid having to explain himself.
Yes, he left her with all the work...
Again.
At least Lily and her friends helped her explain the whole situation to the others...
Yeah, now Hermione was really grateful to Severus.
If Severus hadn't made that comment this morning, the situation would have been even more awkward and complex now.
Hermione even went so far as to think that maybe Severus did all that on purpose, knowing that something like this could happen if they didn't tell to the others quickly.
Lily on the other hand was surprised to hear the professor say "Severus Prince", that was just a confirmation of everything Hermione and Draco had told her earlier today.
Things Lily couldn't believe...
She never imagined that they were cousins of her ex-best friend, it was extremely awkward to talk about it with them, but it was a relief to know that her relationship with them wouldn't be affected by Severus.
Luckily she wasn't the only one surprised, as her friends were just as surprised as she was.
Of course, her friends thought it was his heritage as a Prince that changed Severus so much, but Lily doubted it was just that, but it was only a momentary doubt.
James and Sirius were the most surprised by this news.
Never in their wildest dreams did it occur to them that Severus was a Prince.
Certainly not that their two cousins were Gryffindors, it was like turning the world upside down.
They both wanted to complain to Hermione and Draco for not telling them that sooner, but considering they had only met Severus two months ago, there wasn't much to tell them.
Sirius and James couldn't really blame Hermione and Draco for the family they got.
Black understood them better than anyone.
Besides they couldn't know the whole situation at Hogwarts regarding Lily, them, and Severus.
And they all knew Severus well enough to know that he wouldn't tell them anything.
Although it also came as a surprise to Potter and Black to learn that Lily and her friends already knew, but they were reassured to find that they had found out this morning.
"Someone who duels like Hermione is definitely a Gryffindor," commented Sirius who couldn't help but take advantage of the situation to charm Hermione.
Of course, Black was also very impressed with the skills she showed in her duel, not even they who had been having classes with different members of the Order had reached that level yet.
Everyone in Gryffindor was delighted to have someone so skilled in their house.
Sadly no one had much time to continue talking or asking Hermione questions as the duel between Draco and Severus was about to begin, and Gryffindor couldn't let Slytherin's cheers be louder than their own.
So soon everyone began to support Draco Prince, hoping that he would be as good at using magic as his sister.
When the Duel finally began everyone in Gryffindor was happy to see that the first to react and attack was Draco with a "Flippendo!"
But everyone was silenced when Severus turned and deflected Draco's blast with a simple wave of his hand causing the explosion to end up in another part of the hall.
In Gryffindor, they couldn't believe how easily Severus did that.
'When did he learn to do that?' was a question that crossed everyone's mind.
'Maybe it was just luck' thought some others as it was usual in a dangerous situation for wizards to do some accidental magic.
But that thought didn't last long as moments later Severus deflected several other spells with ease.
It wasn't long before Severus grabbed his wand and went on the offensive against Draco.
The marauders and Lily who knew Severus very well could not believe the speed with which he cast each spell, even they had not improved that much with the Order helping them train.
Hermione wasn't really surprised as she had practiced magic with him and knew how skilled Severus was, though she didn't really know his dueling abilities.
To make matters worse, Severus managed to knock Draco down by casting several spells in a non-verbal manner.
But the Gryffindors were relieved to see that Draco didn't leave the platform, so he hadn't lost yet.
When Hermione saw Draco stand up in annoyance, she knew that he would now want to beat Severus by any means possible.
It was amusing for her to see him look at her for her permission to do something like that.
'I'm not your mother Draco' Hermione thought when he looked at her, but she held the thought back and just nodded at Draco as if she accepted her son's request to go out and play.
It was then that Draco focused only on Severus and the duel they had all been watching turned into complete madness.
If it had already been a surprise to most to see such skills in both of them, then when they both began to cast all sorts of spells with a skill of the highest level...
Well, needless to say, this left them with their mouths wide open.
Even the marauders were trying to figure out what the hell was going on in front of their eyes.
An illusion perhaps...
A dream...
Even a nightmare was more likely than what they saw in front of them.
Everyone in Gryffindor was equally confused, they didn't know Draco, so they didn't know his abilities and of course, it was surprising to see his prowess, but more surprising to them was to see Severus who until just recently used to constantly lose to James and Sirius.
Lily was no better than anyone else, she knew Severus and she knew he was very skilled, skilled enough to go one on one against any Gryffindor.
Of course, after her classes with the Order of the Phoenix she thought things would be a little different, but here was Severus showing a similar level to the Prewett twins.
As the duel continued, no one in Gryffindor said anything, everyone was too focused on watching everything that was going on.
Now Hermione was really surprised, not at Severus' skill, she wasn't stupid and she had seen what he was capable of in his magical practices.
She saw better than anyone his progress and the speed at which he was learning.
Not even Harry had shown himself to be as skilled as he was, which made her think that Severus, with some motivation, could become as great as Dumbledore in the future.
No... she was surprised to notice that Severus was playing with Draco, perhaps his face didn't show any obvious emotion, but Hermione knew he was enjoying the duel.
Although Severus held the upper hand throughout and had many chances to win, he made sure that the duel did not end any time soon.
He was forcing Draco to give it his all and at the same time to improve.
Of course, Hermione doubted it was to help Draco.
No...
She knew that if Severus did something like that it was because he wanted to keep enjoying the duel otherwise he would end it quickly and without a second thought, he was a very direct person that when he got bored he would move on to something else.
And he wouldn't prolong the duel just so Draco could improve his skills, that was just Draco's luck.
Hermione knew this because Severus was like that when they practised magic together.
After a few moments, something happened that no one expected.
They all watched as Severus threw Draco through the air.
It was extremely fast, but they watched as Draco went flying and hit the wall at the end of the dueling platform really hard.
They then watched as he fell unconscious after the blow, which was a clear indication of how badly he was hit.
The Gryffindors couldn't believe what had happened as the duel had been so close until just now and suddenly this happened.
Of course, Hermione knew it wasn't close at all, but she was also surprised as she hadn't expected Severus to do that.
Though no one could blame him as things like that always happened in a magical duel, though there were always going to be some who thought it was on purpose.
Like the marauders...
Hermione along with Lily and most of the Gryffindors quickly went to check on Draco's condition, they were all worried as they watched him faint.
The professor was one of the first to arrive to heal Draco's broken bones.
It was a relief to everyone to know that he was fine and that it was the pressure of the duel and the heavy blow that caused him to faint, but nothing really serious.
Of course, there was no lack of Slytherins who came over to see what happened and to mock them in the process.
'Yeah, Slytherins will always be Slytherins' thought, Hermione.
'Although it would be funny to see their expressions if they knew that Draco was in fact a Slytherin like them' Hermione smiled faintly, until she and the others heard a commotion at the other end of the dueling platform, near where the exit was.
No one in Gryffindor knew what was going on as the dueling platform and the Slytherin were blocking the view.
But Lily seemed to guess something as she was the first to run in that direction worriedly.
It was then that Hermione noticed that neither Sirius nor James were in the vicinity.
'Damn' thought Hermione running quickly after Lily, she didn't want to leave Draco alone, but with the professor and the rest of the Gryffindors, there would be no problem.
And Hermione was now more worried about what the marauders might have done, she knew that as much as Severus had changed, he wouldn't tolerate being bullied and she didn't want to imagine how violent he might be if that happened.
As Lily, Hermione, Remus, and a few other Gryffindors who followed them were reaching the classroom door, the first thing they saw was Sirius on the floor.
He wasn't passed out like Draco, but he did look sore and dizzy.
Once they helped him up, Lily and Hermione left him with Remus and some Gryffindor and went to see where James was.
It was difficult to get through as some Slytherin were surrounding the door, but when they finally arrived they saw Potter on the floor passed out and pale.
"Which one of you did this?" asked Lily furiously to the Slytherins in the surrounding area.
Hermione also looked at them all angrily for answers as she helped James along with Lily.
The two of them looked around for Severus but were slightly relieved to see that he wasn't present so it was more likely that he wasn't involved this time.
The Slytherins only gave them mocking looks, though Hermione was sure she saw some fear and surprise in them initially.
"Huh, we didn't do anything."
" Oh, that... Potter and Black just got what they deserved for playing with their own magic."
"Yeah, they shouldn't do such reckless things."
Joked the Slytherins.
Lily and Hermione were very mad now.
Hermione took her wand and pointed it at the neck of one of them.
"Who was it?" asked Hermione with a serious look on her face as she pointed her wand at one of the Slytherins.
All the others Slytherins present just laughed at her actions.
"Come on try it!"
"Yeah, I want to see a Gryffindor do that"
"Do it, Prince!"
Several Slytherins began to say, while the boy Hermione was pointing at was pale and mute with fear.
Hermione frowned, she wasn't planning on doing anything, but she knew that to deal with the Slytherins you had to show that you are serious.
She didn't think they cared so little for her partner.
Lily looked at Hermione shaking her head, she understood Hermione's intention and hoped it would work but saw that it wouldn't.
Just as Hermione was thinking about stopping pointing her wand at the Slytherin and giving up she heard a female voice say: "Leave it!"
Hermione turned her head to look at the person who said this and saw that it was a Slytherin.
"Tell me who it was and I'll do it" Hermione repeated seriously as she looked at the Slytherin who spoke.
Both Lily and Hermione waited for her to tell them.
"It's not my problem who it was, you just need to know that those two idiots were the first to attack not once, but twice by surprise and these are the consequences of their own actions," said the Slytherin witch.
"Now leave it or we're going to have a problem," she added.
Hermione frowned but understood a little of what she meant.
Lily was able to draw her conclusions as well.
Nodding and seeing that it was the best she was going to get Hermione left the Slytherin.
Then she and Lily led James away along with Remus and the other Gryffindors.
They had both noticed that Severus was no longer in the classroom so they didn't think he was the one who had been responsible for Sirius and James in such a short time.
But after listening to that Slytherin witch, they knew it must have something to do with them attacking Severus, and then that's why they both ended up in that state.
-Hogwarts, October 2nd, 1976
A month had passed since the start of classes at Hogwarts since the news that Severus was now a Prince who had two cousins in Gryffindor and since the unforgettable first Defence Against the Dark Arts class.
After the duel between Draco Prince and Severus Prince, there were many Gryffindors who complained about what happened, but no one could do anything about it as the professor was a witness that the duel was fair.
And that no one used magic that was not allowed.
There were complaints and accusations about what happened to James Potter and Sirius Black after the duel...
But even though everyone knew that the Slytherins had been the culprits, no one had proof, the strangest thing was that neither James nor Sirius blamed anyone for what happened.
They only mentioned that the Slytherins had gotten away with it this time, but that it wouldn't happen again.
Between the Marauders they talked a lot about it, James told Sirius, Peter, and Remus everything, well, everything he remembered until he fainted.
But none of them talked about it to anyone else, nor did they say who was to blame or anything, as if they didn't want to mention what happened with Severus.
Even when Lily asked them they didn't tell them, it was hard for Remus to keep quiet in front of Lily, but they were doing it for him, so he had to do it for them.
Although they didn't say anything, there was a rumour that it was Severus who left them in that state after they provoked him and that's why they didn't want to admit it.
But it was just a rumour, and nobody came out and said anything, so it didn't go any further.
Otherwise, the marauders would have had to do something to clear things up, but since it was just a rumour that only a few in others houses believed, they didn't do anything...
For now.
Of course, everyone in Slytherin already knew the truth and that's why the rumour was formed, as some of them must have talked too much and other houses ended up listening to what they were saying without knowing if it was true or just a Slytherin invention to make themselves look good.
On the other hand, Severus had been able to talk to Pandora, but the answers she gave him were so vague that he didn't know what to think about the girl.
Pandora only told him that she could see the "colour and glow" of people...
Yes..., those were her explicit words.
And according to her, Snape's colour used to be black with an opaque, almost greyish glow, but now Severus' colour was a mixture of black and blue with a very intense glow.
And that was why she saw the difference so quickly.
Severus asked her if she knew what this meant but she only told him that it could mean many things, but that in essence each person had a special colour or glow.
The Ravenclaws who watched Severus talk to Pandora could not believe that he listened to and believed everything she told him.
They were completely delusional, but Severus was so focused and asked so many questions about everything she was talking about, that they thought Pandora had somehow modified his head.
Which wasn't such a bad thing as everyone saw that he started to become less... dark.
He was still lonely and cold most of the time, but he was no longer dark or aggressive.
In fact, he would even answer questions that others asked and if it was an interesting topic he would talk about it with that person.
Especially with Amelia Bones who seemed to have become quite close to him to talk about all sorts of subjects.
But she wasn't the only one who wanted to do that as Severus' knowledge was something everyone in Ravenclaw wanted in Potions class.
Being able to get an explanation from him was a luxury that few had and now that his appearance and attitude had improved so much, it was an added bonus that made everyone want the chance to talk to him.
Too bad Pandora was his partner and Severus seemed very interested in her.
Despite all this, in this month, Severus didn't feel that he had been through many interesting things.
After the little incident in Professor Harvey's class, things calmed down quite a bit for him, even though there were a lot of rumours going around with Gryffindor's complaining and giving him dirty looks.
Yes, that was more fun than anything else for Severus as he couldn't care less.
In Slytherin, some things changed as Severus didn't hang out with Rosier, Avery, and Mulciber as often as he used to...
They only spoke once in a while.
Most of the time he spent reading, training, or talking about a class with the Ravenclaws who had approached him.
And to the surprise of everyone at Hogwarts, three times a week he hung out alone with Draco and Hermione to read or study in the library or some secluded classroom.
This caught everyone's attention, but considering that they were cousins, it wasn't that much of a problem for anyone.
Even for the other houses, it made Severus' image more accessible.
Of course, there were many Slytherins who spoke out against it, but few would say anything directly to Severus, many saw what he did that day with Potter and Black and were not interested in the same thing happening to them.
And although the other houses didn't believe the rumour, Slytherin did believe in what happened.
On the other hand, Draco and Hermione didn't complain to Severus about what happened that day, but they did ask him for details about everything that happened.
Severus had no problem telling them the truth, he even told them what he did to Potter and Black without bothering to hide it.
Draco just nodded as he could understand since in his situation he would have done the same thing.
Hermione not so much, she wanted to complain and tell him a lot of things about how much she disagreed..., but she knew he wouldn't listen, plus it was obvious that it was the marauders that started it all, so she couldn't throw all the blame on him.
She knew that even she and her friends didn't react in the best way when someone attacked them with a spell.
Neither of them mentioned what Severus told to any of the other Gryffindors.
Well, not exactly...
They only told Lily and her two closest friends after a lot of insistence on their part and with the condition that they wouldn't tell anyone else.
They didn't hesitate to tell them because they knew Severus didn't care if others found out what happened.
But they did hesitate to tell them because it would be very problematic if the rumours escalated.
The marauders had been pretty quiet after what happened and they didn't want to incite them to do anything stupid.
Something Lily and her two friends were quite in agreement with, so no one would say anything.
Today Severus got up early, as usual, to do his daily training, when he got back to his room he showered and changed.
Then he looked at the time again.
It was already 7 o'clock.
He decided to go downstairs and meet Hermione and Draco, as he had magic practice with both of them today.
When he got to the Library he saw a young girl already sitting at one of the tables reading, it was none other than Hermione.
When she saw Severus she greeted him with a smile as usual.
"Severus, on time as always."
"And you ahead of time as usual," Severus joked and took a seat across from her.
"Just preparing myself," she commented with a cute pout and Severus just shook his head and grabbed a book.
A few minutes later Draco arrived.
"Draco, you're late," Hermione complained, it was something that used to happen between the two of them.
"Yeah, well..., my roommates didn't let me sleep well last night," excused Draco.
"It's the same excuse you gave the other time."
"And it's the truth..."
"You...!" The two argued a bit more until Severus intervened to start the practice, he didn't know whether to laugh or sigh at this point with the constant bickering these two were having.
"Muffliato" Severus cast his trademark charm to prevent others from hearing what they were talking about.
"I still don't understand why we have to use that charm here. There's no one here," Draco said pointing out that the library was empty.
"Are you sure, have you taken the pictures into account?" asked Hermione pointing to the pictures in the surrounding area.
"Erm, no. I guess I never thought about that," Draco replied with a frown.
"They're the most effective gossip machines here. Look, some of the paintings are already watching us," Hermione said.
"Hermione is right, in Slytherin, there is a said that Hogwarts has ears everywhere, that's why I made a habit of always using this charm in private conversations," commented Severus.
Hermione who heard this nodded happily and looked at Draco and laughed lightly.
While Draco just frowned at that as he knew she was making fun of him for not giving importance to a saying that came from Slytherin.
A saying that someone like him should clearly know.
Draco even went so far as to think that being in Gryffindor was changing him.
Ignoring the amused look Hermione gave Draco, Severus proceeded to get on with today's practice.
Once they were finished, the three of them returned to their respective houses to get ready for breakfast.
When Severus arrived in Slytherin he encountered Mulciber and Avery.
They both already knew that he had been with his cousins in the library, as they met at the same time and place every week.
They frowned but said nothing to him about it, the three of them talked about a few things, and then each went to his own room.
After the duel that day, the two of them were the ones who took the most advantage of the situation to make fun of Severus' cousins.
Especially Draco Prince.
But when they wanted to play a trick on the two Prince, well...
It just needed to be said that they were the ones who ended up in a very embarrassing situation.
Draco wasn't as much of a Gryffindor as they thought he was, as in more than one situation he caught them doing the same tricks a Slytherin would do, and that only annoyed them more.
And to this day they are planning how to get back at Hermione and Draco, well...
Draco especially, both of them had a lot of resentment towards him.
Mulciber would usually just use brute force to deal with him, but he can't beat those two Princes that easily, and using dangerous magic against them would only get him into trouble that even his family couldn't get him out of.
So he and Avery usually just try to get points taken away from their house.
And they succeeded on the odd occasion, only they also lost points in the process.
So it wasn't enough, so they're still planning how to deal with Draco.
Not that Severus cares about all this, as much as they hate their cousins, he wouldn't give up his magical practices.
-Hogwarts, October 9th, 1976
One week later.
In the Slytherin common room, a few students were chatting peacefully until Avery and Mulciber walked in a rage.
They both looked furious and began to vent their anger by pushing and shoving and insulting anyone who got in their way.
The two made their way to one of the rooms in the men's dormitory.
Then they entered without knocking and found three people inside.
"Severus," Mulciber said grumpily.
"Prince," Avery spoke behind him.
"Yes?" asked Severus lightly without getting up from his bed or taking his eyes off the book he was reading.
"Those two idiots made Slytherin lose 100 points!" shouted Mulciber exuding anger, while Avery nodded just as angrily as he was.
"First, I don't know who you're referring to and second, it's not my problem," replied Severus without bothering to speak about it, though he already guessed who they were referring to.
"You...as a Prince are responsible for what your family does Severus!" said Mulciber.
"Yes, if we don't win the cup this year it will be your fault," added Avery.
"It doesn't concern me what my cousins do or don't do and as for the cup..., I don't care."
"You may not care but we do and what your bloody cousins did can't be forgiven," Mulciber said again.
"Fine, don't forgive them" nodded Severus without another word.
"We won't, but it's a bloody shame that you're still hanging out with them."
" Is it?... Even if it is, it's my problem with who I'm hanging out with, Avery" Severus said turning his gaze away from the book he was reading for the first time to look at them.
"Not when it involves all of Slytherin," added Mulciber angrily.
Severus grinned in amusement.
"All of Slytherin you say? I just see two idiots who tried to play a dirty trick on someone and it turned out badly, lost points from their house and now want to take it out on others. Am I wrong?"
"Are you making fun of us?" asked Avery angrily.
"You better watch your words, little princess, you may be a Prince now but my family is still way above yours, we have the support of the Dark Lord, you don't" hissed Mulciber.
"Good for you, what do you want a cake and a congratulatory gift?" joked Severus a little tired with the pointless discussion they were having.
He had been through similar situations this month, he just never saw these two so angry, but it was understandable if they lost 100 house points.
They would at most have made Severus' cousins lose 50, so it was a shame for them to lose that much.
"You disrespectful little bastard, not long ago you were just a filthy half-blood that the only thing you were worth a damn for was your bloody potions!" shouted Mulciber angrily as he pulled out his wand and pointed it at Severus in anger.
"You should have kept quiet Prince," mentioned Avery as he pointed his wand at Severus as well.
"You two get out!" ordered Avery to Severus' two roommates who quickly did as he told them.
"Let me get this straight, you lost 100 points for annoying my cousins and now you're taking it out on me? you really are idiots," Severus just shook his head.
He was already losing the little patience he had left, he had nothing against them but they were being a nuisance, usually, Rosier would shut them up in time...
It was really a pity Rosier wasn't around at the moment.
"They are a pest, and if you are a true Prince you are going to disinherit them and disown them like the pest they are," Mulciber said almost as if he was ordering him to.
"Sure..., when I think the same thing I'm sure I will, you can rest assured," nodded Severus not caring that his comment would only make the two in front of him angrier.
"You...!"