Chapter 5:
"I must say that I am appalled." Dumbledore said, staring down his nose at James and Sirius. "Your friend, Remus Lupin, deserves better." They looked away, staring at their feet. The headmaster rose and strode out from behind his desk. "As the two cleverest wizards in the school, I didn't expect Lupin's condition to slip by you. But I would have thought you would have kept it to yourselves. Werewolves are mistrusted and discriminated against by your fellow wizards. His life is hard enough without everyone knowing his secret and questing for his blood." He leaned against the front of his desk, waiting for an answer. James opened his mouth to speak, but closed it. Dumbledore looked at Sirius. Sirius met his gaze.
"Sorry," he whispered.
Dumbledore gazed over his spectacles, eyebrows raised. "Well. 'Sorry'. That is a start. But, I'm afraid, it is not I to whom you owe an apology."
"Remus," James said.
"That's one of them." Sirius blanched and took a step back.
"Snivellus?" he cried.
"Severus," Dumbledore corrected. Sirius shook his head.
"No."
"There is an alternative," Dumbledore said. The threat lay bare in his quiet voice. Sirius shook his head, eyes wide.
"No, not that."
Dumbledore stood up and went back around to sit behind his desk.
"I have rescinded Snape's expulsion in exchange for his silence about Lupin's condition. Apologies all around and we can let this matter drop. Thus protecting Lupin's secret." He looked at the pair of them. "Shall I send for Snape?" After a moment, James nodded.
Soon, Snape had joined them in the Headmaster's office. He glared at James and Sirius. A palpable hatred bridged the space between them. "Mister Potter and Mister Black have something to say to you, Severus," Dumbledore prompted.
"Sorry, Snape," James muttered. Snape's lip curled into a sneer. Dumbledore looked hard at Sirius.
"Sorry, mate," Sirius said. His own face twisted, as if he'd just swallowed a rancid lemon.
"Apologies accepted," Snape hissed through clenched teeth. "May I go?" he asked the headmaster. Dumbledore nodded, stroking his long, gray beard. Snape turned on his heels and stormed out. Dumbledore seemed ready to say more. Instead, he waved them out.
"Off with you," he said. "I daresay you haven't finished packing for the summer holiday."
James and Sirius hurried out. At the bottom of the lift, just outside the gargoyle statue, Snape stood waiting for them. They stood shoulder to shoulder as he crowded close.
"Well played, Potter! 'Sorry?' The only thing you're sorry about is getting caught!" he hissed.
"Snape, I went in there to save you," James started.
"Only because you would have been expelled if I had died!" Spit flew from his lips as his anger mounted.
"And you!" he rounded on Sirius, "You think you're so clever! So perfect!"
"I am," Sirius said with a shrug. "You fell for it. Don't take it out on me." He smiled. James chuckled at the impotent rage on Snape's face.
"I will get you, Potter," Snape said quietly, "You, your pretty boy, and your pet--" his lips formed the word 'were' before he stopped, "Prefect," he finished with an evil smile. James and Sirius looked over his head.
"I believe this is yours," Remus said from behind him. Snape spun around. He stared at Remus. What little color he had, drained away, leaving him ashen. His wand lay in Remus' palm. Remus smiled sadly at him. Snape snatched the wand and fled down the corridor.
"We'll see you next year then, Snivellus!" Black called after him. James laughed. Remus did not. Sirius draped one arm over Remus' shoulders and the other over James'. He turned them towards Gryffindor Tower.
"I think we won," James said, rumpling his hair as he walked.
"But at what price?" Remus asked. His voice held notes of fear and resignation.
"Mooney, you worry too much. Dumbledore bought his silence," James said. "He'd been expelled for attacking me."
"That's right. Now we can play with him next year too!" Sirius chortled.
"You know, you really are a piece of work, Padfoot," Remus muttered, shaking his head.
Sirius' barking laughter echoed through the halls.
The end