Chapter Three The Great Hall
Severus followed the rest of the Slytherins upstairs, Haylie Greene walked by his side. He couldn't help but notice the way she looked around at the castle, completely fascinated with it. She asked why the Potions lab was on the third floor and not in the dungeon. She asked who was teaching Care of Magical Creatures. She even asked him if he was into the Dark Arts, which he found to be a strange question.
They arrived at the Great Hall and Lucius, Bellatrix, and Narcissa filed inside. Severus prayed dinner would be good tonight; the House Elves hadn't been doing such a good job in the kitchen as of late.
"Snivellus!" that voice called.
He winced and turned around to see his four least favorite people in the world: James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Haylie whirled around next to him and stared at the four Gryffindors. Her eyes rested on Sirius, and Severus prayed she wouldn't go for him. The last thing Hogwarts needed was another member of the Sirius Black fan club. Haylie's eyes, however, didn't show lust or infatuation, they reflected something much different. They reflected something that Severus would describe as sadness of grief.
"Who's the bird, Snivellus?" James said cruelly, eyeing Hermione. He strolled over to her, his expression was malicious.
Severus looked over his shoulder for Lucius, Bella, Narcissa but they were already sitting at the Slytherin table. "Sod off, Potter," he growled. He hated that name, Snivellus, he had gotten stuck with it since their second year.
"Aww what's wrong Sevvie?" Sirius grinned. "Is she a mudblood?"
Severus glanced over at the new girl, her eyes widened at Sirius' comment and she bit her bottom lip.
"Get away from us, Black," Severus ordered, growing angrier.
"Or what?" James spoke up again. "Bore us all to death with some pathetic drivel about the Dark Arts?"
"Yes, Severus, perhaps you should read up on another subject for a change," Lupin gave a wolf-like grin. "I hear you're taking remedial potions this term."
Severus felt a lump grow in his throat. How typical of them to humiliate him in front of a girl. He quickly remembered in their fifth year when James hexed him in front of Lily Evans, and then just last year when Sirius hit him with a muddy snowball right as he was about to kiss Stella. "Isn't tonight a full moon, Lupin?" he said rather loudly.
"I'm not sure, Sev," Lupin continued grinning, "perhaps you'd like to meet me at the Whomping Willow at sundown and we shall see."
Severus thought back to last year when Sirius had tricked him into going to the Whomping Willow, the night of a full moon. James Potter saved him that night, and Severus thought, no, Severus knew, that James did it for recognition. The Whomping Willow incident was isolated and James continued to be a prat whenever he had the chance. Severus felt his blood start to boil, he truly did hate them, and before he realized what he was doing, his wand was out, pointed at the Marauders. Likewise, the Gryffindors in front of him had their wands out in no time, aiming directly at him. He glanced at Peter who was fumbling with his wand that was caught in his robe pocket.
"You're outnumbered, Snivellus, put your wand away, you silly little prat," Sirius ordered.
A movement to his left caught Severus' attention and he glanced sideways. Haylie whipped out her own wand and had it pointed at the four Marauders. Severus was impressed, she was standing up for him, no girl had ever done that before. Most girls just rolled their eyes and walked away.
"Oh look at that, Severus! You've gone and got yourself a girlfriend!" James said merrily.
"What's going on here?" a familiar voice came from behind him.
Severus stashed his wand back in his robes to face Madame McGonagall.
"They were harassing us, Professor McGonagall!" Hermione said angrily, pocketing her own wand.
"Professor McGonagall?" the older witch asked curiously.
Severus caught the four Gryffindors exchanging puzzled looks and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. McGonagall wasn't a professor at all. She wasn't a teacher, she was head of Gryffindor House and the Quidditch instructor.
"I'm Madame McGonagall," she said to Haylie. "And who may you be?"
"I'm Haylie Greene, ma'am," Hermione said frowned. "I'm new."
"Well Miss Greene, you and Severus have both earned yourselves detention."
Severus glared at McGonagall, his mouth open and his brow furrowed. How typical of the witch to take the Gryffindor's side. She never even listened to the Slytherin's side.
"Also," McGonagall added, "twenty points will be taken from Slytherin for causing such trouble in the middle of the Great Hall."
She walked away as James and Sirius snickered loudly. Lupin crossed his arms smugly and Peter smirked.
"Detention! That's a shame Snivellus, I do hope you'll be able to play for the first Quidditch match of the season," James laughed.
This isn't over, Potter," Snape glowered at them before stalking off towards the Slytherin table, Hermione in tow.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, Haylie!" Sirius called, stirring more laughter from the Marauders.
Severus took a seat with his fellow Slytherins, across from Lucius and next to Bellatrix. Haylie plopped down next to him. He felt completely terrible for landing her in detention on her first day.
"I'm so sorry," he said looking at her, his face pale.
"They're horrible!" she said angrily.
"I know!" Severus said, determined to apologize the right way.
"I had no idea! I mean, they are usually so kind! It's like completely different people!" Haylie said in a rant.
Severus looked at her for a moment, what the hell was she talking about?
The color in her face seemed to disappear for a moment. "I just thought I knew them," she said slowly. "I mean, I thought I had already met those Sirius and Lupin guys, but it must have been someone else."
"Yes Sirius Black is quite the horrid little prat isn't he?" Narcissa said from across the table.
"We'll get them," Lucius grinned while taking a bite of mashed potatoes.
"Yes, my dear cousin has it coming," Bella smirked.
Severus buried his head in his hands, tugged his black hair. 'Why me', he asked himself. Why did they constantly target him? Its so unfair he thought. He felt a light weight press onto his shoulder. He looked up at Haylie who had her hand on his back.
"Don't listen to them, they're just a bunch of silly dolts," She smiled.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't want you to get detention," He offered.
"It's fine. It's not like it's my first time," She smirked. "Now, how about we eat a bit, I'm starving."
After dinner was finished and the Great Hall started emptying, Lucius slung an arm over Narcissa's shoulder. "I do hope you wont have detention for the first Quidditch match of the season." He said with a sigh.
"Don't worry," Severus said as he sipped a glass of pumpkin juice. "I'll be there."
"You had better hope so," Lucius frowned. "I don't have time to find another Seeker before then."
"You're a Seeker?" Haylie asked with a grin.
Severus blushed a bit. "Yes, I am, this is my second season."
"I had no idea!" She beamed.
"Well I suppose there is much you don't know about me, Haylie," Severus said brightly. He smiled, looking into her big chocolate colored eyes. There was something about her that made him feel like he had known her for years.
"Look at him over there," Lucius said with disgust, motioning towards James Potter. "Thinks he's so good."
Severus turned around on the bench to see James, flanked by the three gits, leaving the Great Hall. James was playing with a Snitch and talking very animatedly to his friends. He gave a quick glance at the Slytherin table, smirked, and then darted out the door. It was absolutely sickening.
"Don't worry," Bella said angrily. "We'll win the Quidditch Cup this year."
"I hope so, it's our last year here, and we've already lost three years in a row." Lucius sighed.
"You all are on the team too then?" Haylie asked, tucking a wavy strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yes," Lucius said happily. "I'm the captain of the team, and a Chaser."
"I'm a Beater," Bella said enthusiastically.
"Stella Sinistra is our Keeper," Severus said, filling the new girl in. "Evan Rosier and Rabastan Lestrange are both Chasers," he pointed down the table to them. "Jonathan Avery," he pointed the other direction, "is a Beater."
"Do you play Quidditch, Haylie?" Lucius asked.
Severus already knew the answer to that, he was very empathic to people and Haylie Greene was no Quidditch player.
"I'm actually not very good on a broom," she said quietly. "My friends…at my other school…they were all very into Quidditch. My friend Harry is a Seeker, and Ron is a Keeper."
"I've never been good on a broom either," Narcissa said airily. "I've got better things to do then fly around chasing a bunch of balls."
"Narcissa, dear, you've never even tried Quidditch!" Lucius grinned.
"I don't plan to either, it would probably mess up my hair." She responded sweetly and gave Lucius a kiss.
Severus looked down at his dinner plate, which held a half eaten roll, and the remains of roasted chicken. He couldn't help but feel a tad jealous of the happy couple across from him. He was seventeen and had never had a girlfriend. It was through no fault of his own, he liked to think of himself as a decent looking guy, and it seemed that every time he was getting close to a girl, the Marauders would have to ruin it.
They had humiliated him in front of Lily Evans more then enough, not that it mattered she was a Mudblood. Since the snowball incident, Stella was too nervous to be seen with him with out a huge group with them. Then, there were all the other minor humiliations. He was on a date at Three Broomsticks with Angela Leery, just as he was coming back with two glasses of Butterbeer, Sirius Black thought it would fun to trip him. Severus went down face first, landing on a broken glass, it cut up his arm pretty badly. He got back to the table with Angela and she asked "Are you always this clumsy?"
There was also the time when he gathered up all his nerve to ask out Jennifer Perkins, Ravenclaw. He walked over to the Ravenclaw table, glass of pumpkin juice in hand, to talk to her. He tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around on the bench, smiling happily.
"Jennifer, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go to Hogsmeade this weekend?" he asked quietly.
Before she could answer the contents of his glass of pumpkin juice found its way to the front of Jennifer's robes.
"I never want to see you again!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face as she ran from the Great Hall, her robes stained orange. Severus looked over his shoulder at a snickering Remus Lupin, who, coincidentally, had his wand out.
"Well let's get going, I have Charms homework," Bella said, breaking his chain of thoughts.
The Slytherins stood up from their table and left the Great Hall. Severus looked down at Haylie and smiled, she smiled back.
"You're robes have probably been delivered by now," He said, feeling a little anxious to see her in a black and green Slytherin robe.
"I do hope so!" she said, probably a little over enthusiastically.
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