A/N: Thanks for all your reviews! :-) Please R&R my other fic "I Can See You" as well, ok?
Professors Black, Lupin And Snape
"Harry! Are you listening to me?" Hermione cried impatiently.
Harry tore his eyes from the staff table and turned to look at his friends.
"Why are you wearing that silly grin on your face?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
Harry nodded his head towards the end of the staff table where Sirius and April were seated.
"Is there anything wrong?" Ron was entirely lost.
"They seem different today," Harry remarked, with a grin on his face.
"That's true," Hermione observed Sirius and April thoughtfully. "They're usually in some sort of argument, but now they look as though they're sharing a silly joke."
The three teenagers soon forgot all about their breakfast and looked intently at the two adults, who were oblivious to their stares. Sirius continued to whisper into April's ear and she continued to giggle at whatever amusing thing he was telling her.
"Something's definitely up," Harry decided happily.
Hermione did not comment. She had noticed that Remus Lupin was nowhere to be seen in the Great Hall.
*
"That's evil, Sirius. Did you really say that to the poor girl?" April was stifling another fit of laughter.
"What was I supposed to say? I still can't believe she actually asked me such a stupid question!" Sirius replied cheerfully.
"And you asked her to check the library for the answer? You should have just asked her to check her textbook since it's on page one!"
"She obviously did not bother to read the textbook. Anyway, it'll do her some good to spend more time in the library."
"So that she'll have less time to chase after you?"
He grinned, "Yeah, and that too."
April pushed away her plate and sipped her pumpkin juice.
Sirius glanced at her. "You're not a big eater, are you?"
"I just believe in having a light breakfast. Too much food will only make me feel drowsy in class."
"Stop attending those classes then," Sirius remarked meaningfully.
April threw him an impatient look. "Don't start on your nonsense now. We've been through this," she warned.
"That's not nonsense. If you're not enjoying old Snape's classes, why carry on? You know you're welcome to attend my classes anytime."
"What? And watch all those girls swoon over you?" she joked.
"No, to make them jealous. By letting them know that Professor Black is already taken," Sirius countered.
April blushed. "I don't relish the thought of being the public enemy of half the student population at Hogwarts."
Sirius grinned and then turned serious. "So will you stop attending those torture sessions?"
"They are not torture sessions, Sirius. And this is not the right time to quit. If I give up now, he'll win."
"Since when has this become a competition? Look, it's simple. You don't like attending his lessons, then stop doing so!"
"What will you do if you're in my place?"
Sirius was caught off-guard by her question.
April persisted, "You'll be the last to give Snape the satisfaction of thinking he has removed you from his classes."
"That's true, but…"
"No buts," she cut in. "I'm staying put for the time being."
"Suit yourself," Sirius grumbled, turning his attention back to the food.
*
Harry, Ron and Hermione could hardly keep still in their seats. Their other classmates were equally restless, but for different reasons. They were whispering amongst themselves about their new Defence Against Dark Arts professor - Sirius Black. Most of them had seen Sirius around in the school, but few dared to go near him. The memory of the fear Sirius Black single-handedly caused in the school in their third year was still very vivid in their minds.
Sirius sauntered into the classroom five minutes after the scheduled time. He casually glanced around the room and grinned at Harry, Ron and Hermione when their eyes met.
"I'm Sirius Black, your new professor who'll be taking you through what's left of your Defence Against Dark Arts lessons this year."
Several giggles can be heard. They were from Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown and a few others in the class, who were looking at Sirius dreamily. Sirius rolled his eyes and consoled himself with the thought that this was the one class where he could have at least one normal female student.
"Hermione!" he shouted abruptly and startled the whole class. "Tell me briefly what had been covered by Professor Moody."
Hermione jumped out of her seat. "Yes, Si…Professor Black."
After Hermione had delivered her very detailed brief, Sirius looked pleased and announced, "Ten points for Gryffindor!"
"Harry Potter!" Sirius said next. "I hear you can conjure a full-blown patronus? How about giving a demonstration to your classmates?"
"Yes, sir!" Harry grinned as he held out his wand and soon, the familiar stag was galloping around the room.
Sirius watched the stag silently till it evaporated into thin air. "Another ten points for Gryffindor!" he declared thereafter.
The rest of the lesson continued in a similar fashion. Sirius asked the students to perform simple tasks and awarded points freely. By the end of the lesson, the fifth-year Gryffindors had earned a whopping hundred and five points.
*
April was not having as fun a time as Sirius in classes.
Snape was determined to make it as unpleasant as he can for her, just as she was stubbornly determined to attend every lesson conducted by him.
The first-year Ravenclaws could only tensely observe the two adults and be suffocated by the thick hostile air.
"Miss Ashley," Snape was sneering, "I see you've left your wits in your dormitory? Tell me, what is this?" He pointed to a yellow powdery substance.
"Sul…,"
"Speak clearly!"
"S…sul…ph…"
"Have you left your ability of speech behind as well? Ten points from Ravenclaw!"
Nicole Ashley was almost in tears when Snape leaned towards her and said in a cool voice, "I would advise you, Miss Ashley, to be better prepared when you attend my future lessons. Or it will cast doubts over your suitability to be trained as a witch."
"I believe Nicole knows the answer," April stated quietly from a corner of the dungeon.
"I did not ask for your opinion, Miss Flamel."
"Nicole knows the answer," April repeated. "She'll tell it in your face if you're not scaring her so much."
Snape left Nicole Ashley's table in a flash and rushed menacingly towards April.
April felt her heart pounding furiously but resolved not to let her fear show, as Snape stopped in front of her.
"Get out of my class, Miss Flamel," Snape delivered the words in a slow and threatening manner.
"The headmaster has given me permission to be present. You have no right to…"
"No right? Miss Flamel, I believe you have forgotten that this is my class. I'm sure Professor Dumble…"
"Albus will not approve of the way you're treating your students."
Snape narrowed his eyes till they became just two slits. "Just because you're on first-name basis with the headmaster, it doesn't mean you can…"
"I'm merely stating a fact, Professor Snape. Your way of teaching is not good for the students!"
"Are you saying I'm not a good teacher? What does that make you? Don't forget you're supposed to learn from me!"
"I'm learning from you indeed, Professor Snape," April said coldly, "I'm learning what NOT to do!"
Snape was shaking with anger, but when he spoke, his voice was controlled. "In that case may I suggest that you stick to your two boyfriends. You obviously have a very interesting sense of judgement, Miss Flamel. An ex-convict and a werewolf indeed!"
"Professor Black was wrongly accused and Professor Lupin will not hurt anyone," April hissed. "I'm not alone in my preferences, Professor Snape. Professor Black and Professor Lupin are without doubt more popular with the students than you are."
Snape and April continued to glare at each other for sometime until a cough was heard. They turned sharply to stare at Luke Bolye who tried desperately to stifle his coughing fit which only grew worse.
*
Sirius met April in his quarters for dinner. They had decided not to join the rest of the school in the Great Hall.
"So how many points did Snape add and take away today?" Sirius asked her merrily in between large bites of his chicken sandwich.
April handed him a small piece of parchment that bore the words "Gryffindor, minus forty. Slytherin, plus twenty-five."
"Great," Sirius said, looking pleased. "I outdid him today. I added over a hundred points to Gryffindor and took away eighty from Slytherin."
"Sirius, that's too obvious. You really ought to tone it down before Snape complains to Albus."
He considered for several moments. "Alright. I'll just match the points to what he adds and takes away. You'll give me the figures at lunch and end of each day?"
"Sure, I'm enjoying being a spy!" April agreed readily.
*
In the meantime, Hermione was making her way to the Gryffindor Tower when she changed her mind and strode purposefully to April's quarters instead. She arrived just in time to witness Sirius' departure.
"Hi Sirius," she greeted him uneasily.
Sirius did not notice her discomfort. He merely threw her a smile and whistled merrily as he walked down the corridor.
"This is not the time to feel guilty. What you are doing is right," she mumbled to herself as she knocked on the door.
"Hermione! Hi! Come in!" April greeted the girl and gestured for her to step into the room.
"April, I need to ask you something."
April nodded encouragingly.
"Are you dating Sirius now?"
April was a little taken aback by her query. "We're not exactly dating. We're just…special friends, I guess. Why do you ask?"
"Then what about Professor Lupin? Is he your special friend too?"
"He's a good friend," April corrected, raising an eyebrow.
"Then you don't like Professor Lupin the way you like Sirius?"
"They are different!" April was beginning to feel flustered by all the questioning. "Where is all this leading to?" she asked suspiciously.
Hermione bit her lower lip. "I was hoping you'll get together with Professor Lupin," she hurriedly added when April looked ready to protest, "But of course Sirius is not a bad choice either."
"Hermione, you're acting strange today."
Hermione realised with a sinking feeling that it was too late for regrets. "I shouldn't have come. Please ignore what I've just said," she said miserably.
"That's okay, Hermione," April said gently. "You're entitled to your views and preferences, just as I'm entitled to mine."
"Will you pay Professor Lupin a visit then?"
April frowned. "I've not seen Remus today. Is everything alright?"
"I don't know. I've not seen him either. Will you?"
"Alright," April agreed slowly.
*
April found Remus sitting under the oak tree in the courtyard.
"Hi there!" she greeted as she went towards him. "Why are you sitting here in the dark?"
He smiled in response. "What are you doing here?"
"Taking a walk," she shrugged. "Had your dinner?"
He nodded. "And you?"
"Had mine with Sirius a while ago."
Remus nodded again. "So how's your day with Snape? Is he still as nasty to you?"
"As always," April rolled her eyes. "I could tell that he thinks I'm a pest, but that's not going to stop me."
"Snape will probably be a lot nicer to you if you're not our friend."
"Huh? Why's that?"
"He doesn't like us, so he'll not like our friends too."
"I can tell Sirius and Snape have each other at the top of their hate lists. Was it like that all along? I heard from Minerva that you all attended Hogwarts in the same year."
"We used to make fun of Snape, and made him the object of ridicule. In fact, at that very spot," Remus pointed to the ground five feet away from where they sat, and continued, "we hang Snape upside down and twirled him round and round in front of a crowd."
April's eyes widened. "I can't picture you doing that! Pettigrew would not have the guts. So that leave Sirius and Harry's dad."
"I did not stop them, so I was responsible too."
"What else did you do to Snape?"
Remus looked miserable. "Once, when he was taking a bath, the sewage pipes suddenly burst and…"
"Oh no!" April wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Another time we put a spell on him and made him sing to everyone he meets."
"No wonder he hates all of you."
"We also added something to his hair and made it stink…I mean, smell really bad for weeks. And these are only some examples. There were more. Much more."
"Snape did not defend himself?"
"He couldn't. James and Sirius were far better with their wands than Snape. But I must admit that Snape has improved tremendously ever since he graduated."
April fell silent for a long while. "Those are not nice things to do at all," she said finally, shaking her head.
"We were all young and terribly foolish. We're not proud of that," Remus told her quietly.
"I think both of you owe him an apology then."
"It's too late. The ill feelings have gone on for far too long to be erased with an apology."
"So you're going to act as though nothing happened?"
Remus looked very tired. "I've tried. But he made it clear that he does not want to mention the past again."
April shrugged, "I don't blame him."
There was another pause.
"Will you think lesser of me…and Sirius now that…" Remus began uncomfortably.
April shook her head and gave Remus a grin, "What's done cannot be undone. Let's just be nicer to Snape from now onwards."
That's easier said than done, Remus thought grimly.
***
