Chapter II: Another year of misery
"Come on, Avery, we're going to be late!" Rosier yelled from the door of their dormitory the next morning.
"Just a second, okay? I can't find a quill."
Severus and Rosier watched as Avery tore his trunk apart. After another ten seconds or so, the boy stood up quickly, flourishing his newly-found quill in triumph. His face fell a little on seeing the expressions on his dorm-mates' faces.
Two minutes later, the three boys entered the Great Hall, which was filled with excited, chattering students. As they sat at the Slytherin table, Horrell passed along a sheaf of timetables. Avery picked out his own, then passed them along.
Please, please, no ... oh damn it, Severus thought to himself as he examined his timetable. The Slytherins had both Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts with the Gryffindors again, for the fifth year in a row. Severus heard Avery groan.
"I don't believe it."
"What?" Rosier asked as he spooned sugar onto his porridge.
"Guess," Severus replied darkly. Rosier glanced down at the parchment in Severus' hand and swore vehemently.
"It's our OWL year! Why can't someone else get stuck with those idiots for once! We've done our share!" Rosier was almost wailing at this point. Around the Slytherin table, heads turned to face them. Rosier blushed almost to the same shade as his spots. "I can't believe we have Defence with Black and Potter again," he hissed quietly as he leaned across the table. "Another year of 'be serious,' 'no, I'm Sirius.' God, I think I'm going to be sick." Rosier toyed with his breakfast, his face a study in misery.
Severus looked down at the now-cold toast on his plate. He pushed it away, untouched. For a few minutes, he ignored the conversation swirling around him as Avery and Veronica Flint-Gore, the other fifth-year prefect, debated which of the Gryffindors was most annoying. The knot in his stomach from the evening before had returned and had been so kind as to bring a few friends with it.
That absolute ... bitch, McGonagall, sticking us with her moron Gryffindors again - loathsome old crone. He could feel a twisted scowl cross his face and didn't care who saw it.
"Why does it always have to be us? That's what I want to know," Rosier's angry voice penetrated the veil of Severus' anger.
"At least Professor Ames attempts to keep them under control. Brax, though ..." Avery trailed off as he reached for a plate of bacon.
Professor Brax, the Potions teacher, was indulgent by nature and made no effort to curb the outlandish behaviour of the Gryffindors. Severus suspected that the man secretly found them amusing. What can you expect from a Hufflepuff, he thought sourly.
So, after breakfast, accompanied by Rosier and Avery, Severus plodded out to his Potions lesson with a sense of dread. Then, as the three boys crossed the Entrance Hall on their way to the dungeons, Severus heard an entirely too familiar voice behind him.
"Hey, Snivellus! Have a good summer?" The three Slytherins turned as one, and saw James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew following them out of the Great Hall. Severus saw out of the corner of his eye a group of young Hufflepuffs cast a frightened glance at the scene and scurry off towards the marble staircase.
Potter and Black, together again. Hurrah, Severus thought bitterly and wondered how many House points he'd lose if he Stunned them both right there in the Entrance Hall. He sneered and turned away.
"Hey! I'm talking to you, Snape," Potter continued. The three Slytherins continued towards the dungeons. "I always knew you were a slimy little wanker, Snivelly. I guess you're a coward, too." Severus heard Black's strange, animalistic laugh.
That's it! Severus grabbed his wand out of his pocket and turned back, a snarl on his face.
"Stupefy!" he yelled at Potter. The red light of the spell shot past Potter's head, missing him by a fraction of an inch. It flew over the heads of three Gryffindor girls coming up behind them, through the Great Hall doors, and blasted the wall above the Slytherin table, eliciting shrieks from a group of first and second-years still eating their breakfasts.
Oh. Shite.
"Great shot, Snivelly!" Black bellowed as Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew laughed uproariously. Severus saw Professor Ames jump up from the staff table and storm up the centre aisle of the Great Hall, doing a very good imitation of a small, thin, grey wolverine. Potter and his gang headed off for the dungeons at top speed.
"Potter, you coward!" Rosier called after their retreating backs.
"Retaliators always get the penalty call, Snape. Better luck next time, though," the Gryffindor Chaser Nina Bottle said, laughing, as she and the other Gryffindor girls followed their classmates towards the dungeons.
Shut up, you repulsive foreign cow, Severus thought angrily as Professor Ames approached. Avery gave a little squeak and stepped behind Rosier.
Ames pointed a finger at Rosier, then Avery.
"Potions. Now." The two boys didn't need telling twice. Severus felt his heart drop into one leg and his stomach drop into the other as his Head of House glared up at him with her eerie, violet-coloured eyes.
"Answers, Snape," she said quietly in the tightly-controlled, no-nonsense tones that Severus thought of as her 'I was an Auror for forty years, so don't mess with me, boy' voice. Severus didn't want to be cowed by her. For heaven's sake, I should not be intimidated by this insane midget anymore. However, in reality, he was still a little frightened of his Head of House even though, at almost sixteen, Severus towered over her. He hated himself for sounding almost contrite when he answered.
"Potter provoked me, Professor." Severus had to admit it would be a feeble excuse even if she hadn't heard it about a thousand times already. Her lips pursed together as her 'Grow the hell up, you nauseating adolescent' look crossed her face. In less fraught moments, Severus had wondered how his teacher had gotten through her student years as a Slytherin. Slytherins were supposed to be subtle, sophisticated - stylish even. They were not supposed to have the temper and demeanour of vicious forest-dwelling carnivores. That was for Gryffindors.
"Fifty points from Slytherin, Mr. Snape." Severus gasped angrily, then shut his mouth when he saw the teacher's eyes flash a warning. "And five days' detention." Severus felt his expression tighten in anger as his hands curled into fists at his side. Ames turned to return to the Great Hall, then stopped and looked back at him. "I'm sure Professor Brax can find enough work for you for five evenings." Severus was taken aback. He thought he saw something approaching a smile on her lined and scarred face as she turned away again.
Severus slunk off to the dungeons. Brilliant start of term, he thought sarcastically as he yanked open the door to Professor Brax's classroom. The tall, bear-like wizard looked up at him from the front of the room. With a great effort, Severus managed to moderate his scowl somewhat.
"Well, hello, Mr. Snape. Thank you for joining us. Perhaps you'd like to take the seat next to Miss Wainwright." He pointed at the back row of work benches, at which sat three Gryffindor girls. For a moment, Severus stared down at three virtually identical smirks before slamming his books down and inelegantly flopping onto the one empty seat. From the front of the dungeon, Rosier gave him a questioning look. Severus held up five fingers. Rosier gave him an 'oh, well, could be worse' look and a small shrug before returning his attention to their teacher.
As usual, Professor Brax was giving them a general introduction to the potions they'd be studying that term. Severus stopped paying attention after about five seconds. Avery always took adequate notes for that sort of thing. Instead, Severus' attention turned to Potter and his gang. The little bastard was always getting away with things. He thinks all the teachers think he's marvellous, just because Bumblebore treats him like some kind of pet. Then, Severus realized something. Professor Ames had given him five detentions with Professor Brax. A thin-lipped smile appeared on his face for a moment. She'd given him what seemed to be an onerous punishment, as his little slip of the wand had been so public, but she knew he never considered extra time in the Potions dungeon a punishment. Ha, ha, Potter, he thought. Ames is on to you, you arrogant cretin.
For the next twenty minutes, Severus comforted himself with intricately constructed, increasingly deadly fantasies of revenge against James Potter. Unknown to him, the smile on his face widened as he continued to gaze, glassy-eyed, towards the front of the classroom. As his attention slowly drifted away from these indulgent reveries and back to the events going on around him, Severus heard very quiet, muffled laughter to his right. The three girls were huddled together over something. After a few seconds of glaring at them in an unsuccessful attempt to get them to shut up, Severus turned his attention back to their teacher. Brax was, as usual, boring the pants off everyone with an in-depth dissertation on the uses of sneezewort. Did this last year, Severus thought idly. If people are too stupid to remember the basics over summer break, that's their problem. Get on with it.
An hour later the agony of revision was over. As the bell rang, Professor Brax reminded them to bring their cauldrons to the following lesson. Severus grabbed his bag and headed for the door to wait for Rosier in the corridor. As Potter and Black passed, Severus gave them his best full-lip-curl sneer.
"Nice look, Snivelly," Black said, laughing.
"Well, Black, at least I'm not third choice behind four-eyed freak boy and the sickly little weed," Severus replied, pointing at Lupin. He was gratified to see Black reach for his wand and Lupin place a restraining hand on his friend's arm.
"Go to hell, Snape," Pettigrew wheezed from behind Potter. Severus ignored him. As Potter opened his mouth to join in the fun, a large hand clamped onto his shoulder. Startled, Potter turned and looked up into the face of the six-foot slab named Brian Burke. Burke had a smile on his deceptively placid face. No one spoke for a second or two.
"Out of the way, Potter," the Slytherin Beater finally said, in tones that would cause a stranger to mistakenly think that the Quidditch rivals were old friends.
After casting sharp glares at Severus, the four Gryffindors left.
"So, Snape, is your bodyguard planning on taking NEWT level Potions?" Severus turned; the three Gryffindor girls were still standing behind him, all smiling with varying degrees of malice. He didn't answer, but left with Rosier for their morning break.
"Honestly, Snape, I don't believe the trouble you manage to get into, sometimes," Rosier said as he followed Severus down the corridor. "Wait up a second," Rosier continued, exasperated, as he tried to keep up with Severus' much longer strides. Severus stopped and turned quickly.
"What?" he asked with a snarl. Rosier stopped and Severus was angered to see an irritated look flash over his friend's face.
"You can save that for the Gryffindors," he replied in warning tones as he stopped in a patch of flickering torch-light.
Watch yourself, Rosier, Severus thought as the two boys glared at each other for a second. Severus snorted dismissively and turned to resume his rapid strides.
"Slow down, you idiot!" Rosier continued as he scrambled after his friend. With no intention of accommodating his irritated and irritating friend, Severus was halfway up the stairs before Rosier caught up to him. "You've got to learn to control your temper, Snape," Rosier said in short gasps as he puffed after the much taller boy, who was taking the steps two at a time.
"I'd like to see you try it, Rosier."
"You're just playing their game." Severus didn't reply as they left the staircase and turned right down a corridor. He could feel the burn of rage building in his chest as Rosier fanned the flames of his anger higher. "Reacting like that just makes you look like the fool, Snape," Rosier shouted at him as Severus flung open the door to a small courtyard where, traditionally, the older Slytherin students took their morning breaks.
Severus suddenly spun around and took two long, rapid steps back to Rosier. His speed and the look of black rage on his face caused Rosier to step back quickly.
"Are you recommending I capitulate to those two, let them walk all over me?" Severus finally said. He could feel his self-control slipping away and he was happy to see Rosier's look of alarm as he took two steps back and bashed the backs of his legs against a stone bench. "Shall I be a good boy, then? Sit in the corner and cry, all alone?" Severus kept coming, his expression grim. Rosier scrambled back, sitting down hard on the cold stone, in a corner of the courtyard the sun never reached. "Refuse to defend myself? Turn the other cheek?" Severus was now looming over his friend, glowering down at him. He could feel his hands curling up into fists again and, with difficulty, forced them to relax. Rosier didn't respond for a few seconds. Severus saw him take a deep breath before answering, his smooth voice in sharp contrast to his expression of alarm. For a moment, Severus regretted frightening his friend.
"Of course not. I think a more reasoned response might be called for, though."
Severus was startled by the mischievous smirk that arose on his friend's face. At that moment, the rest of the Slytherin fifth-years arrived. Severus glanced over and saw Avery approach, then change his mind and scurry off after Burke and Maitland Horrell.
If only I could get Potter to do that with just a look. But then, Potter isn't quite as much a coward as Avery.
"After four years of this, Snape, you're going to have to either learn to ignore them or take a more subtle approach." Rosier's tones caught Severus' attention and his head jerked back to him with a snap. Rosier didn't flinch under his stony glare, which lightened slightly as he realized what his friend was suggesting. Severus cocked an eyebrow as a tight smile crept across his thin lips and he shoved his hands deep in the pockets of his robes.
"What exactly did you have in mind?" he asked quietly, not taking his eyes off Rosier's.
"Mmmm, a little turnabout, perhaps." Rosier smirked up at Severus as he leaned back against the stone wall and crossed his arms in front of his chest. The two boys continued to stare at each other, each locked in their own thoughts.
"It would have to be something ... very public," Severus said slowly, still holding Rosier's stare.
"Very. Painful, too."
"Very." Severus paused. "And very, very humiliating."
"Of course; why go for half measures." Rosier smiled his rarely seen, feral little smile. "Perhaps something to keep Perfect Potter out of the Slytherin-Gryffindor match?" Severus smiled just as nastily back.
"Perhaps."
"What are you two plotting?"
Severus snapped his head up and turned to see Avery standing about ten feet away, shifting nervously from one foot to the other, a hesitant, questioning grin on his flabby face.
"Nothing you need concern yourself with, Avery," Rosier answered acidly.
"Fine, then." Avery turned and left in a huff.
What a complete prat, Severus thought to himself.
"What a complete tit," Rosier drawled. Severus chortled derisively, his eyes gleaming. Rosier caught his eye. "We'll need to work on this some more."
"Definitely."
Rosier stood and looked at his watch. "May as well head to Defence."
The two boys shared a silent smirk as they headed back to the castle and the long trek to Professor Ames' classroom. Severus felt a warm glow at the prospect of revenge against Potter.
It was time to prove who was the better man.
"Come on, Avery, we're going to be late!" Rosier yelled from the door of their dormitory the next morning.
"Just a second, okay? I can't find a quill."
Severus and Rosier watched as Avery tore his trunk apart. After another ten seconds or so, the boy stood up quickly, flourishing his newly-found quill in triumph. His face fell a little on seeing the expressions on his dorm-mates' faces.
Two minutes later, the three boys entered the Great Hall, which was filled with excited, chattering students. As they sat at the Slytherin table, Horrell passed along a sheaf of timetables. Avery picked out his own, then passed them along.
Please, please, no ... oh damn it, Severus thought to himself as he examined his timetable. The Slytherins had both Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts with the Gryffindors again, for the fifth year in a row. Severus heard Avery groan.
"I don't believe it."
"What?" Rosier asked as he spooned sugar onto his porridge.
"Guess," Severus replied darkly. Rosier glanced down at the parchment in Severus' hand and swore vehemently.
"It's our OWL year! Why can't someone else get stuck with those idiots for once! We've done our share!" Rosier was almost wailing at this point. Around the Slytherin table, heads turned to face them. Rosier blushed almost to the same shade as his spots. "I can't believe we have Defence with Black and Potter again," he hissed quietly as he leaned across the table. "Another year of 'be serious,' 'no, I'm Sirius.' God, I think I'm going to be sick." Rosier toyed with his breakfast, his face a study in misery.
Severus looked down at the now-cold toast on his plate. He pushed it away, untouched. For a few minutes, he ignored the conversation swirling around him as Avery and Veronica Flint-Gore, the other fifth-year prefect, debated which of the Gryffindors was most annoying. The knot in his stomach from the evening before had returned and had been so kind as to bring a few friends with it.
That absolute ... bitch, McGonagall, sticking us with her moron Gryffindors again - loathsome old crone. He could feel a twisted scowl cross his face and didn't care who saw it.
"Why does it always have to be us? That's what I want to know," Rosier's angry voice penetrated the veil of Severus' anger.
"At least Professor Ames attempts to keep them under control. Brax, though ..." Avery trailed off as he reached for a plate of bacon.
Professor Brax, the Potions teacher, was indulgent by nature and made no effort to curb the outlandish behaviour of the Gryffindors. Severus suspected that the man secretly found them amusing. What can you expect from a Hufflepuff, he thought sourly.
So, after breakfast, accompanied by Rosier and Avery, Severus plodded out to his Potions lesson with a sense of dread. Then, as the three boys crossed the Entrance Hall on their way to the dungeons, Severus heard an entirely too familiar voice behind him.
"Hey, Snivellus! Have a good summer?" The three Slytherins turned as one, and saw James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew following them out of the Great Hall. Severus saw out of the corner of his eye a group of young Hufflepuffs cast a frightened glance at the scene and scurry off towards the marble staircase.
Potter and Black, together again. Hurrah, Severus thought bitterly and wondered how many House points he'd lose if he Stunned them both right there in the Entrance Hall. He sneered and turned away.
"Hey! I'm talking to you, Snape," Potter continued. The three Slytherins continued towards the dungeons. "I always knew you were a slimy little wanker, Snivelly. I guess you're a coward, too." Severus heard Black's strange, animalistic laugh.
That's it! Severus grabbed his wand out of his pocket and turned back, a snarl on his face.
"Stupefy!" he yelled at Potter. The red light of the spell shot past Potter's head, missing him by a fraction of an inch. It flew over the heads of three Gryffindor girls coming up behind them, through the Great Hall doors, and blasted the wall above the Slytherin table, eliciting shrieks from a group of first and second-years still eating their breakfasts.
Oh. Shite.
"Great shot, Snivelly!" Black bellowed as Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew laughed uproariously. Severus saw Professor Ames jump up from the staff table and storm up the centre aisle of the Great Hall, doing a very good imitation of a small, thin, grey wolverine. Potter and his gang headed off for the dungeons at top speed.
"Potter, you coward!" Rosier called after their retreating backs.
"Retaliators always get the penalty call, Snape. Better luck next time, though," the Gryffindor Chaser Nina Bottle said, laughing, as she and the other Gryffindor girls followed their classmates towards the dungeons.
Shut up, you repulsive foreign cow, Severus thought angrily as Professor Ames approached. Avery gave a little squeak and stepped behind Rosier.
Ames pointed a finger at Rosier, then Avery.
"Potions. Now." The two boys didn't need telling twice. Severus felt his heart drop into one leg and his stomach drop into the other as his Head of House glared up at him with her eerie, violet-coloured eyes.
"Answers, Snape," she said quietly in the tightly-controlled, no-nonsense tones that Severus thought of as her 'I was an Auror for forty years, so don't mess with me, boy' voice. Severus didn't want to be cowed by her. For heaven's sake, I should not be intimidated by this insane midget anymore. However, in reality, he was still a little frightened of his Head of House even though, at almost sixteen, Severus towered over her. He hated himself for sounding almost contrite when he answered.
"Potter provoked me, Professor." Severus had to admit it would be a feeble excuse even if she hadn't heard it about a thousand times already. Her lips pursed together as her 'Grow the hell up, you nauseating adolescent' look crossed her face. In less fraught moments, Severus had wondered how his teacher had gotten through her student years as a Slytherin. Slytherins were supposed to be subtle, sophisticated - stylish even. They were not supposed to have the temper and demeanour of vicious forest-dwelling carnivores. That was for Gryffindors.
"Fifty points from Slytherin, Mr. Snape." Severus gasped angrily, then shut his mouth when he saw the teacher's eyes flash a warning. "And five days' detention." Severus felt his expression tighten in anger as his hands curled into fists at his side. Ames turned to return to the Great Hall, then stopped and looked back at him. "I'm sure Professor Brax can find enough work for you for five evenings." Severus was taken aback. He thought he saw something approaching a smile on her lined and scarred face as she turned away again.
Severus slunk off to the dungeons. Brilliant start of term, he thought sarcastically as he yanked open the door to Professor Brax's classroom. The tall, bear-like wizard looked up at him from the front of the room. With a great effort, Severus managed to moderate his scowl somewhat.
"Well, hello, Mr. Snape. Thank you for joining us. Perhaps you'd like to take the seat next to Miss Wainwright." He pointed at the back row of work benches, at which sat three Gryffindor girls. For a moment, Severus stared down at three virtually identical smirks before slamming his books down and inelegantly flopping onto the one empty seat. From the front of the dungeon, Rosier gave him a questioning look. Severus held up five fingers. Rosier gave him an 'oh, well, could be worse' look and a small shrug before returning his attention to their teacher.
As usual, Professor Brax was giving them a general introduction to the potions they'd be studying that term. Severus stopped paying attention after about five seconds. Avery always took adequate notes for that sort of thing. Instead, Severus' attention turned to Potter and his gang. The little bastard was always getting away with things. He thinks all the teachers think he's marvellous, just because Bumblebore treats him like some kind of pet. Then, Severus realized something. Professor Ames had given him five detentions with Professor Brax. A thin-lipped smile appeared on his face for a moment. She'd given him what seemed to be an onerous punishment, as his little slip of the wand had been so public, but she knew he never considered extra time in the Potions dungeon a punishment. Ha, ha, Potter, he thought. Ames is on to you, you arrogant cretin.
For the next twenty minutes, Severus comforted himself with intricately constructed, increasingly deadly fantasies of revenge against James Potter. Unknown to him, the smile on his face widened as he continued to gaze, glassy-eyed, towards the front of the classroom. As his attention slowly drifted away from these indulgent reveries and back to the events going on around him, Severus heard very quiet, muffled laughter to his right. The three girls were huddled together over something. After a few seconds of glaring at them in an unsuccessful attempt to get them to shut up, Severus turned his attention back to their teacher. Brax was, as usual, boring the pants off everyone with an in-depth dissertation on the uses of sneezewort. Did this last year, Severus thought idly. If people are too stupid to remember the basics over summer break, that's their problem. Get on with it.
An hour later the agony of revision was over. As the bell rang, Professor Brax reminded them to bring their cauldrons to the following lesson. Severus grabbed his bag and headed for the door to wait for Rosier in the corridor. As Potter and Black passed, Severus gave them his best full-lip-curl sneer.
"Nice look, Snivelly," Black said, laughing.
"Well, Black, at least I'm not third choice behind four-eyed freak boy and the sickly little weed," Severus replied, pointing at Lupin. He was gratified to see Black reach for his wand and Lupin place a restraining hand on his friend's arm.
"Go to hell, Snape," Pettigrew wheezed from behind Potter. Severus ignored him. As Potter opened his mouth to join in the fun, a large hand clamped onto his shoulder. Startled, Potter turned and looked up into the face of the six-foot slab named Brian Burke. Burke had a smile on his deceptively placid face. No one spoke for a second or two.
"Out of the way, Potter," the Slytherin Beater finally said, in tones that would cause a stranger to mistakenly think that the Quidditch rivals were old friends.
After casting sharp glares at Severus, the four Gryffindors left.
"So, Snape, is your bodyguard planning on taking NEWT level Potions?" Severus turned; the three Gryffindor girls were still standing behind him, all smiling with varying degrees of malice. He didn't answer, but left with Rosier for their morning break.
"Honestly, Snape, I don't believe the trouble you manage to get into, sometimes," Rosier said as he followed Severus down the corridor. "Wait up a second," Rosier continued, exasperated, as he tried to keep up with Severus' much longer strides. Severus stopped and turned quickly.
"What?" he asked with a snarl. Rosier stopped and Severus was angered to see an irritated look flash over his friend's face.
"You can save that for the Gryffindors," he replied in warning tones as he stopped in a patch of flickering torch-light.
Watch yourself, Rosier, Severus thought as the two boys glared at each other for a second. Severus snorted dismissively and turned to resume his rapid strides.
"Slow down, you idiot!" Rosier continued as he scrambled after his friend. With no intention of accommodating his irritated and irritating friend, Severus was halfway up the stairs before Rosier caught up to him. "You've got to learn to control your temper, Snape," Rosier said in short gasps as he puffed after the much taller boy, who was taking the steps two at a time.
"I'd like to see you try it, Rosier."
"You're just playing their game." Severus didn't reply as they left the staircase and turned right down a corridor. He could feel the burn of rage building in his chest as Rosier fanned the flames of his anger higher. "Reacting like that just makes you look like the fool, Snape," Rosier shouted at him as Severus flung open the door to a small courtyard where, traditionally, the older Slytherin students took their morning breaks.
Severus suddenly spun around and took two long, rapid steps back to Rosier. His speed and the look of black rage on his face caused Rosier to step back quickly.
"Are you recommending I capitulate to those two, let them walk all over me?" Severus finally said. He could feel his self-control slipping away and he was happy to see Rosier's look of alarm as he took two steps back and bashed the backs of his legs against a stone bench. "Shall I be a good boy, then? Sit in the corner and cry, all alone?" Severus kept coming, his expression grim. Rosier scrambled back, sitting down hard on the cold stone, in a corner of the courtyard the sun never reached. "Refuse to defend myself? Turn the other cheek?" Severus was now looming over his friend, glowering down at him. He could feel his hands curling up into fists again and, with difficulty, forced them to relax. Rosier didn't respond for a few seconds. Severus saw him take a deep breath before answering, his smooth voice in sharp contrast to his expression of alarm. For a moment, Severus regretted frightening his friend.
"Of course not. I think a more reasoned response might be called for, though."
Severus was startled by the mischievous smirk that arose on his friend's face. At that moment, the rest of the Slytherin fifth-years arrived. Severus glanced over and saw Avery approach, then change his mind and scurry off after Burke and Maitland Horrell.
If only I could get Potter to do that with just a look. But then, Potter isn't quite as much a coward as Avery.
"After four years of this, Snape, you're going to have to either learn to ignore them or take a more subtle approach." Rosier's tones caught Severus' attention and his head jerked back to him with a snap. Rosier didn't flinch under his stony glare, which lightened slightly as he realized what his friend was suggesting. Severus cocked an eyebrow as a tight smile crept across his thin lips and he shoved his hands deep in the pockets of his robes.
"What exactly did you have in mind?" he asked quietly, not taking his eyes off Rosier's.
"Mmmm, a little turnabout, perhaps." Rosier smirked up at Severus as he leaned back against the stone wall and crossed his arms in front of his chest. The two boys continued to stare at each other, each locked in their own thoughts.
"It would have to be something ... very public," Severus said slowly, still holding Rosier's stare.
"Very. Painful, too."
"Very." Severus paused. "And very, very humiliating."
"Of course; why go for half measures." Rosier smiled his rarely seen, feral little smile. "Perhaps something to keep Perfect Potter out of the Slytherin-Gryffindor match?" Severus smiled just as nastily back.
"Perhaps."
"What are you two plotting?"
Severus snapped his head up and turned to see Avery standing about ten feet away, shifting nervously from one foot to the other, a hesitant, questioning grin on his flabby face.
"Nothing you need concern yourself with, Avery," Rosier answered acidly.
"Fine, then." Avery turned and left in a huff.
What a complete prat, Severus thought to himself.
"What a complete tit," Rosier drawled. Severus chortled derisively, his eyes gleaming. Rosier caught his eye. "We'll need to work on this some more."
"Definitely."
Rosier stood and looked at his watch. "May as well head to Defence."
The two boys shared a silent smirk as they headed back to the castle and the long trek to Professor Ames' classroom. Severus felt a warm glow at the prospect of revenge against Potter.
It was time to prove who was the better man.