CHAPTER 14

Snivellus and James

It was only a month until he was freed from this prison. He started counting down the days on his calendar, ticking each day off as it fell away. Finally, the end of summer had come, and he was packing his bags to go to King's Cross. Only two more hours, and he would see James again. They could talk in private without his father breathing down his neck.

Finally, he was climbing onto the train, and running to their usual compartment. Remus was already there, waving out the window to his family. He looked worse than he had two months ago.

"Hey, Lupin," Sirius said, taking a seat and putting his trunk underneath.

Remus turned around and smiled. "Hey, Sirius. Did you like my pictures?"

"Yeah, they were great." Sirius sighed and looked out the window behind Remus. "Is James here yet?"

"No, but I see Peter." Remus pointed at an even larger view of the boy saying goodbye to his parents. They were equally as large. "Think he went on that diet?"

"By the looks of it? No," Sirius said.

"Hey guys."

James walked into the compartment, his trunk being heaved behind him. He gave Sirius a sympathetic look. "How was your summer?"

"You don't need me to answer that one for you," Sirius huffed.

Remus nodded his head and said, "Pretty good. Yours?"

"We've got to tell you something," Sirius said, and James looked taken aback. "No, James. He's our friend. If we're going to do anything about it, he's got to know."

And they told him all about the Knights of Walpurgis.

"I've heard of Voldemort before," Remus said thoughtfully. "He's a powerful wizard. My dad was really scared of him a few years back. He says that Voldemort has some hands in some things he shouldn't be touching. He's a bit off his rocker a bit. But he's a genius."

"Have they come to your house yet?" Sirius asked hopefully.

"No," Remus said, "Or, at least, from what I know of. I mean, I don't know of Klein stopping by. Probably not interested in my family, anyway. My dad's a Muggle-born."

"You never told us that," James said.

"It's not important, is it?" Remus huffed, and wiped his nose on his large sleeve. "Anyway, it sounds like bad news. I have no idea what Walpurgis means either. Sounds German-"

"Hi," Peter said as he crowded into the compartment. Sirius rolled his eyes as he sat down next to Remus. "How was your summer?"

"Remind me again how you got into Gryffindor?" Sirius asked. "I thought the dunderheads all went to Hufflepuff."

James had to excuse himself after a few minutes to go to the bathroom. It was located at the back of the train. He passed Mundungus Fletcher's (a friend of Sirius's) compartment. He was a weasel-y sixth year, and he was trying to illegally bet on the outcome of the Quidditch Cup by the time that James had passed their door. Lily Evans was in the next compartment. He looked down at his feet, trying not to look at her. She had noticed him, he was sure of it.

"Oof!" He fell back and shook his head. Lying in a heap was Snape, glaring at him, and trying to pick up his books that he had been carrying.

"Watch where you're going!" James shouted, and he pushed Snape back onto the floor.

"Me? You ran into me, Potter!"

The boys scrambled to their feet, wands raised high in the air. "You'd do good to learn some manners, Snivelly," James retorted. "Expelliarmus!"

Snape's wand shot out of his hand, and he stared at James with a deer-in-the-headlights gaze.

"Incamento!" A spurt of red light jumped from James's wand and hit Snape square in the face. Blotches of red began to appear, and Snape howled with pain.

James laughed and kicked him aside as he continued on his trip to the bathroom.

"Soracto!"

James fell to the ground, his eyelids shut tightly. He couldn't open them. He was blind!

"Dracus Droganas!" James shouted to the blackness, and he heard a scream come from Snivellus. All at once, his eyes opened again, and he found Snape sporting a new tail, the length of a car. It slammed into the nearest compartment's door with a BANG!, and Lily Evans came rushing out into the corridor with a worried look upon her face. Snape looked to her in complete terror, and James gave a bit of a grin.

He laughed, "Well, Snivelly, I think we've-"

"Argghh!" Snape lunged at James with a battle cry, forgetting about his new tail, and knocked him to the ground.

"Stop it, both of you! Sev, stop it!" Lily shouted. Snape socked one good in James's face, but James, with ease, rolled Snape onto the ground and returned the punch.

Sirius and Remus's voices could be heard coming closer. Soon he felt Sirius tugging on his arm and pulling him out of the way.

"What are you doing?" James shouted as Remus helped him to his feet.

Sirius took James's spot and hit Snape hard in the mouth. There was a wail of pain, and then Sirius pointed a finger at him "You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. Don't you ever put your grubby little hands on Potter again. You understand me?"

"Get off, you git," Snape spat.

Sirius hit him again. Remus looked around nervously. Students were starting to come out of their compartments. Soon enough one of the prefects or conductors would be coming to see what the commotion was about.

"Don't you ever call me a git, you little-"

"You know what your cousin told all of us?" Snape smirked.

"Do you think I give a damn what Narcissa's got to say-"

"She said that you're the darkest one of the bunch. You're just scared. You're a coward. That's why you begged the Sorting Hat to let you into-"

SMACK.

Snape held his face for a moment, and then spat out a back molar.

"Please! Stop it!" Lily screamed, rushing to shove Sirius to the floor. He went back with an "oof!" and looked treacherously up into the green eyes of the little witch.

"SIRIUS BLACK!"

Sirius looked up to find a very peeved looking Rubeus Hagrid staring at him. Were they already at the school? He couldn't see the windows from the floor. They must have been, though. The students were starting to grab their luggage and lag it outside.

"What in ruddy hell d'you think yer doin'?" Hagrid lunged forward and pried him off of Snape, who was still holding his bleeding mouth. But he was smirking. Yes, he still had that stupid smile plastered to his face.

Hagrid grabbed him as well, and he carried the two boys under his arms out of the train and down a platform like they were luggage. He threw them into a horseless carriage and then said to the invisible driver, "Take them straight to Dumbledore."

The carriage began to move, and Sirius glowered at Snape. There had never been two people that hated each other more. Snape was still sporting his large tail and spots. The tail hung out of the door and trailed on the path behind them. Sirius had come out of it unscathed.

Great, Sirius thought, Now it'll look like I beat up on him.

They didn't say anything on their trip to the castle. Sirius was thinking about expulsion. Who knew what Snape thought. He looked quite content with himself. He had found a soft spot in the rough and tough Sirius Black, and he would surely be sharing this discovery with his fellow Slytherins.

Soon, the compartment door opened, and invisible hands clamped themselves onto the scruffs of the boys' necks, and dragged them inside the castle. It was a clear night, and Sirius could hear the sounds of excited voices from inside the Great Hall and on the lake. The first years would be sorted any minute now. No one from the Black family this year. It was still about five years before Bellatrix would be attending Hogwarts, and Andromeda had been forced to go to Durmstrang three years ago. She didn't like it, of course. Regulus would be coming next year. Oh, wouldn't that be a treat.

Soon enough, they were outside a large statue of a phoenix. Filch was waiting for them, smiling first at Snape and then glaring at Sirius.

The two boys were suddenly let free of the invisible driver. They heard footsteps walking back down the corridor. Filch's smile lengthened, and he said, "Lemon drops."

Sirius and Snape stood on the spiraling staircase that surrounded the phoenix, and soon enough, the two of them were soaring through a large tunnel and into a gigantic office. Behind a desk sat Dumbledore, with Professor Slughorn and Professor McGonagall flanking him.

"Severus Snape, and Sirius Black," Dumbledore said, the glint in his eye gone. "Do you know there is no fighting on school grounds? And did you know that this does, in fact, include the Hogwarts Express?"

"Yes, sir," Snape said from behind his red blotches. Dumbledore took out his wand, waved it, and Snape's tail and acne disappeared.

"I do not care to know who attacked who first and who started it," Dumbledore said sternly. "You both have won yourselves detention and a fifty point loss from both of your houses."

"What about Potter, sir?" Snape asked. "He was the one who-"

"I have not heard any accusations towards Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said. "Now, the rest of your punishments are up to your Heads of House-"

"Well, I'm making an accusation now!" Snape said. "He attacked me in the train corridor!"

"Were there any witnesses for when the attack initially started, Mr. Snape?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, but-"

"Well, then," he interrupted, "it isn't a fair accusation."

"It isn't a fair accusation?!" Snape repeated in disbelief. "Did you see my tail, Professor?"

"I am guessing that that was the work of Mr. Black. Am I right, Mr. Black?"

"Yes," Sirius said quickly.

"Well, there you are," Dumbledore said, his eyes glittering from behind his half moon spectacles. "Now, Professor Slughorn will escort you, Severus, back to the festivities, and Professor McGonagall will escort you, Sirius. You may leave."

Snape left the room, followed by Slughorn, fuming. Sirius smiled to himself as Professor McGonagall led him down the staircase and back into the corridors.