Chapter 7 ~ The Eye of the Storm
Severus found himself staring at Muriel again as they studied together in the library. Just under her calm surface was a boiling rage that was nearly tangible, though she wouldn't tell him why.
What really surprised him was that the marauders had stopped hexing her almost entirely. Of course, they still tried to hex him daily. He'd been to the Harmless Hex ward at least twice each week, and he had yet another detention tomorrow, because he'd been caught trying to get back at them. Unluckily, but justly, Professor McGonagal had noticed that Potter had hexed him first, and now he would have to sit through detention with the egotistical prat.
He hoped Professor McGonagal would just let them study. With year-end exams coming up, he was starting to get antsy about some of his classes.
He took his books with him to detention, just in case. When he arrived, Potter was already sitting at the back of the classroom, so Severus took a seat in the front. He was unpleasantly surprised when Lupin came in a moment later. He narrowed his eyes. Lupin had nearly let Muriel die at the end of last year because he hadn't NOTICED that she was practically falling over. He really didn't like Lupin.
Remus noticed Severus' angry look and headed toward James, biting back the question he'd hoped to ask. Sirius had tracked down one of Mur's dorm mates once when Muriel had skipped dinner, to ask how she was. She had turned her eyes to him innocently and replied, "angry," in a tone of voice that told him he'd best not ask further.
Remus had approached her on only one occasion and found himself bound and gagged before he'd finished his apology. She'd left him in a passageway he hadn't ever seen before, somewhere down near the Slytherin dungeons. The Slytherin prefect, Lucius Malfoy, had found him and taken points from Gryffindor, though Remus hadn't actually done anything wrong. He looked later, but never found that passageway again.
In all, the student body of Hogwarts was breathing a sigh of relief. For all intents and purposes, it appeared the feud was over. But the marauders knew better.
"I wish there was some way we could tell her that we never meant for it to be that bad," Remus said quietly as they sat in the common room one Saturday afternoon. They had finished most of their end-of-year tests, and none of them felt like studying. Peter nodded morosely. Sirius just stared hard into the fire.
James rolled his eyes. He still wasn't convinced that it HAD been that bad. His friends were all acting as if they'd put her life in danger. Even Peter seemed to feel guilty. "Come on! She's hexed us hundreds of times. She even knocked Peter down and gave him a black eye in that scuffle last term."
Peter, never sure who to agree with when his friends fought, nodded again. Remus spared him an annoyed glance. "I think she was just in a hurry, and you two paid her back well enough for that. We should have found out more about the spell before we used it."
Peter nodded at this statement as well, and James prodded his leg with his foot. "Shut up, Peter!" he exclaimed, though the boy hadn't said anything. "What do you think, Sirius? Should we be in here worrying about Deesia, or outside tossing the quaffle around?" The whole thing had been Sirius' idea in the first place, and James was sure his best mate would back him up.
They all fell silent as several feet clattered down the stairs from the girls' dormitory. Lily and three of her dorm mates were headed outside to enjoy the warm spring weather. James looked back at his friends. "Er.I'll be outside," he said, distracted. None of his friends had any doubt as to why. James followed Lily every chance he got.
After a moment, Peter left too. Sirius sat, still gazing into the fire. He'd found the spell in one of his father's old books years ago, and he knew he should have gone back and researched it before they'd sent it to her. He was trying desperately to think of some way to get things back the way they had been. Life at Hogwarts was pretty boring now that Muriel wasn't playing pranks on them anymore. He was also a little worried about what she would choose when she DID decide to get back at them. If she was as angry as everyone said, it would probably be pretty bad.
"I think I'll head to the library," Sirius said finally. Remus nodded and watched his friend leave the common room without his books. None of them had tried to talk to Muriel since Malfoy had found Remus in the dungeon passageway. That had been two weeks ago, and it was probably time to try again. Remus didn't offer to go with him.
But it didn't matter, because neither she nor Severus was in the library. Of course, Sirius wouldn't have bothered to ask Snape anyway. They had learned right off the bat that the quickest way to get hexed was to mention Muriel to Snape.
Severus found himself staring at Muriel again as they studied together in the library. Just under her calm surface was a boiling rage that was nearly tangible, though she wouldn't tell him why.
What really surprised him was that the marauders had stopped hexing her almost entirely. Of course, they still tried to hex him daily. He'd been to the Harmless Hex ward at least twice each week, and he had yet another detention tomorrow, because he'd been caught trying to get back at them. Unluckily, but justly, Professor McGonagal had noticed that Potter had hexed him first, and now he would have to sit through detention with the egotistical prat.
He hoped Professor McGonagal would just let them study. With year-end exams coming up, he was starting to get antsy about some of his classes.
He took his books with him to detention, just in case. When he arrived, Potter was already sitting at the back of the classroom, so Severus took a seat in the front. He was unpleasantly surprised when Lupin came in a moment later. He narrowed his eyes. Lupin had nearly let Muriel die at the end of last year because he hadn't NOTICED that she was practically falling over. He really didn't like Lupin.
Remus noticed Severus' angry look and headed toward James, biting back the question he'd hoped to ask. Sirius had tracked down one of Mur's dorm mates once when Muriel had skipped dinner, to ask how she was. She had turned her eyes to him innocently and replied, "angry," in a tone of voice that told him he'd best not ask further.
Remus had approached her on only one occasion and found himself bound and gagged before he'd finished his apology. She'd left him in a passageway he hadn't ever seen before, somewhere down near the Slytherin dungeons. The Slytherin prefect, Lucius Malfoy, had found him and taken points from Gryffindor, though Remus hadn't actually done anything wrong. He looked later, but never found that passageway again.
In all, the student body of Hogwarts was breathing a sigh of relief. For all intents and purposes, it appeared the feud was over. But the marauders knew better.
"I wish there was some way we could tell her that we never meant for it to be that bad," Remus said quietly as they sat in the common room one Saturday afternoon. They had finished most of their end-of-year tests, and none of them felt like studying. Peter nodded morosely. Sirius just stared hard into the fire.
James rolled his eyes. He still wasn't convinced that it HAD been that bad. His friends were all acting as if they'd put her life in danger. Even Peter seemed to feel guilty. "Come on! She's hexed us hundreds of times. She even knocked Peter down and gave him a black eye in that scuffle last term."
Peter, never sure who to agree with when his friends fought, nodded again. Remus spared him an annoyed glance. "I think she was just in a hurry, and you two paid her back well enough for that. We should have found out more about the spell before we used it."
Peter nodded at this statement as well, and James prodded his leg with his foot. "Shut up, Peter!" he exclaimed, though the boy hadn't said anything. "What do you think, Sirius? Should we be in here worrying about Deesia, or outside tossing the quaffle around?" The whole thing had been Sirius' idea in the first place, and James was sure his best mate would back him up.
They all fell silent as several feet clattered down the stairs from the girls' dormitory. Lily and three of her dorm mates were headed outside to enjoy the warm spring weather. James looked back at his friends. "Er.I'll be outside," he said, distracted. None of his friends had any doubt as to why. James followed Lily every chance he got.
After a moment, Peter left too. Sirius sat, still gazing into the fire. He'd found the spell in one of his father's old books years ago, and he knew he should have gone back and researched it before they'd sent it to her. He was trying desperately to think of some way to get things back the way they had been. Life at Hogwarts was pretty boring now that Muriel wasn't playing pranks on them anymore. He was also a little worried about what she would choose when she DID decide to get back at them. If she was as angry as everyone said, it would probably be pretty bad.
"I think I'll head to the library," Sirius said finally. Remus nodded and watched his friend leave the common room without his books. None of them had tried to talk to Muriel since Malfoy had found Remus in the dungeon passageway. That had been two weeks ago, and it was probably time to try again. Remus didn't offer to go with him.
But it didn't matter, because neither she nor Severus was in the library. Of course, Sirius wouldn't have bothered to ask Snape anyway. They had learned right off the bat that the quickest way to get hexed was to mention Muriel to Snape.