With his family situation, Severus was familiar with the way news travelled. The moment someone saw him with his mother at the entrance to Diagon Alley, there were whispers about how the heiress of the Prince family ran away to marry a Muggle. By the time they walked out of the first shop, he was sure that everyone, even the people at the end of the street, knew that they were there. If adults were that bad, he could imagine how it went at Hogwarts, which was full of teenagers.
Before the boys and Evelyn managed to finish their lunch, a squatty, pig-faced boy sat down next to Avery.
"So, is it true?" asked Amycus Carrow as he looked at the boys expectantly.
While his tone suggested that he did not care much about the issue, his shining eyes gave away his excitement to learn more about the issue.
"Is what true?" asked Rosier as he looked at the smirking boy in front of him.
"You know what. They say that you have been up in the headmaster's office all morning..." said Amycus.
"Well, yes, that's true," replied Rosier cautiously.
After all, they have just left the office, and he had no intention of drawing more attention to his group today.
"Hah! That's amazing! You are like the heroes of Slytherin!" shouted Amycus, now forgetting all about his manners. However, the older students just looked at him funny.
"What do you mean?" asked Rosier, confused.
"What do I-? You mean, you haven't heard? Apparently, Bertha Jorkins saw you enter the headmaster's office, then later Barty was laughing in the corridor about how they are trying to find proof against you, but they can't find anything. And before we knew it, you were nicknamed the heroes of Slytherin. How ironic," laughed Amycus.
"Betha Jorkins, of course, it was Bertha Jorkins… I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the day they would be saying that you are all going to be expelled…" mumbled Evelyn, making it clear just what kind of a person Bertha Jorkins was.
"Are you going to be expelled?" asked the surprised Amycus, with his eyes still sparkling with excitement.
"No, of course not! As Barty said, there is no proof that it was us, and we would like to keep it that way. That said, please be so kind and don't shout about it in the Great Hall, where everyone can hear you." said Rosier quietly, as he took a sip of his water.
"So, it was really you?" asked Amycus again.
"Maybe it was us, maybe it wasn't. I guess you will never find out…" sneered Snape as he looked at the boys, "Are we finished?"
"Yes, let's go," said Rosier as the group of Slytherins stood up, leaving the bewildered Amycus Carrow behind.
"Well, I'm going to see the girls before the Potions club starts. I will see you there, I assume," said Evelyn as she looked at Severus, who just nodded, "Very well, see you around," she said as she walked away.
"Potions club, eh? I think I finally understand why you are so keen on going there..." smirked Rosier.
"I could say the same about you and the Quidditch matches…" mumbled Severus.
"I - I have no idea what you are talking about! I'm just supporting the house team!" said Rosier, but the slight blush on his face told everyone the truth.
"If you say so..." mumbled Severus as the boys walked to the common room.
The walk to the common room was not long, however, it was quite interesting as people stared at them. In the dungeons they passed Slytherins leaving the common room, each of them giving them funny looks and smiles. One, who Severus recognized as Scabior, a second-year half-blood, grinned at them and gave them a thumbs up. The boys looked at each other, confused, but Rosier just shrugged. That was until they entered the common room.
Some would say, that the Slytherin common room was cold, intimidating, or even scary. However, as the boys entered, they heard the deep laugh of Walden Macnair, a seventh year, who was sitting by the fire with a large group of people. There was Yaxley, Regulus, Mulciber, Jugson, and a couple of other people.
"And here they are! The heroes of Slytherin!" laughed Jugson, and a round of applause started.
The applause slowly died after Rosier raised his hand. "Not that I am not enjoying this because believe me, I do; however, you are mistaken. We haven't done anything,"
"Anything we wouldn't have done, you mean," said Jugson.
"No, I mean that we were wrongfully accused-" started to explain Rosier, however, he was interrupted by Macnair.
"Of course, of course. Wrongfully accused," he said with a smirk, "But just between us, snakes, I would have left them in the forest…"
"Don't give them ideas!" shouted the fifth-year prefect, Darius Anderson, who just stood up from his chair.
"Oh, come on Anderson, you know that those Gryffindors deserved it," laughed Macnair.
"Even though it was fairly amusing, I have to say that you've crossed a line here," said the prefect. "Ten points from each of you," he added after a thought, causing an uproar in the common room.
"Darius, my friend, listen here. They did a service for us. Shouldn't they be awarded instead?" asked Macnair as he put an arm on the prefect's shoulder.
"We don't want to send them the wrong message, do we?" said Darius looking pointedly at Macnair.
"No offence, but you are such a hypocrite," said Yaxley as he looked at Anderson, who just raised an eyebrow in question, "You were the one who came to us, talking about solidarity and such things, asking for help, and then you go and take house points…"
"Oh, well, Williams asked me this favour, and it would have been rude to refuse after she helped me with a delicate matter..." explained Darius.
"So, what's the moral of the story?" asked Macnair dramatically as he turned to the crowd near the fireplace. "Be careful when asking favours from Williams because you never know what she will ask in exchange. You might even have to go against your morals..." he said, smirking at Darius, who just looked away in shame, "But on the other hand, remember that Slytherins stick together, but before you do something stupid, make sure that you have mates to back you up," he finished, sending a wink to the crowd, while Darius just rolled his eyes.
"Fine, I won't take any points this time, but make sure that something like this doesn't happen again..." sighed Darius, and left to his room.
Macnair just smirked at his tactics, and as soon as the prefect left, he motioned for the boys to join them near the fireplace.
"So, tell me about your duel. I can't wait to hear what you have to say…"
"... And then we ran into each other in the Great Hall," finished the story Evelyn.
When Evelyn entered the courtyard, the girls were back under the tree talking excitedly about something. The moment she sat down, she was bombarded with questions about the truth behind the rumours surrounding the four Slytherin boys.
"Okay, don't get me wrong, I might hate Black, but I would have done the same," said Lucinda.
"I'm with Lucy on this one," said Emma, not looking up from her Quidditch magazine.
"Fine. Bonnie?"
"Uh, same here..." added Bonnie.
Evelyn was about to say something, but she was interrupted by Lucinda.
"Anyway, I don't even know why you are still wasting your time with him. He is a lost cause. If he continues to behave the way he does, he is going to end up getting disowned," said Lucinda offhandedly, looking at her nails, and inspecting the black nail polish on them.
"True. You should stop clinging to a dead friendship and instead focus on more important matters," looked Emma worriedly at Evelyn, but she just laughed dryly.
"Funny you say that. You know, in a minute I'll be heading to the potion club. Maybe you should join me and work on your skills…"
However, rather than taking her own advice, Emma just went back to her magazine, "As I said, focus on more important things..."
"Like Quidditch?!" laughed Evelyn, before she added, "Suit yourself. Lucy?"
"Now? It's still early. I'll have time to catch up later, maybe during the Christmas holidays," she said lazily.
"If it's not a problem, I would like to come," smiled Bonnie softly.
"Alright. By the way, could you talk to that friend of yours, Bertha Jorkins, about watching her mouth? It would be troublesome if the teachers were to hear some exaggerated rumours after the boys managed to get out of trouble," looked Evelyn at Lucinda before she and Bonnie turned to leave.
On their way to the dungeons, Bonnie noticed that Evelyn was awfully quiet.
"You know... We didn't mean it in the wrong way. We all think that it's amazing how you got them out of the trouble, but if you look at it from his point of view, it's like you betrayed him..." said Bonnie quietly.
"Thank you for your insight, but I don't want to talk about it," said Evelyn coldly.
"Okay, I'm not going to pressure you, but you know that even though we have reservations about him, you can still talk to us, right?" asked Bonnie worriedly, and Evelyn just nodded.
When the girls entered the dungeon where the club was held, they saw Remus Lupin talking to Matthias Bulstrode by the teacher's desk.
"I'm glad that you decided to come," said Matthias to Lupin with a smile.
"Yes, well, I need all the help I can get, so it's not like I could afford to miss it…" mumbled Lupin, who was clearly feeling awkward.
"Don't worry, I'm sure that people will soon forget about today's incident. After all, this is Hogwarts, pranks happen almost every day," said Matthias as he put a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort the younger boy.
"And it's not like you have anything to be ashamed of," winked Bonnie as the girls passed them.
Upon hearing that comment, Lupin's eyes went wide, and his usually pale face was now bright red. Seeing his reaction, both Matthias and Evelyn laughed, which only made Remus redder. He quickly made his way to the table at the back of the dungeon and took out a book, which he pretended to read, but everyone knew that he was just hiding his face.
The girls just giggled as they sat down at the table in front of his.
It was no secret that Severus Snape excelled at potions. However, contrary to the popular belief, Severus had little to no interest in potions. It was something that he just naturally excelled at. Of course, he could appreciate the subtle art of potion-making, although he was more interested in a certain red-haired witch, who was now walking beside him.
They were best friends, as Lily referred to them, which meant that they spent a lot of time together. While it was easy during the summer months, when they went back home and could spend time sitting by the river, it was not so easy during the school year. Or better yet, it was almost impossible. It was the year before the O.W.L exams, which meant that they were getting a larger amount of homework. And if it wasn't enough, being in different houses didn't exactly help their situation. With the whole Gryffindor/Slytherin thing going on, it was difficult to spend time together without being in the centre of attention.
That's why Severus liked the Potions Club. It was the perfect excuse to spend time with Lily since the only ones attending the club were either Potion enthusiasts, who were too busy trying to perfect their potion-making skills, or failing students, who needed to learn something quickly, so nobody paid attention to the other members.
"… that's how Mary heard from Dorcas, who heard it from Amelia Bones, who heard it from Rita Skeeter, who was there when Bertha Jorkins was telling her friends about it," finished the story Lily, but Severus just rolled his eyes.
"Lily, I told you before, I really don't care about what they say about me," he said, annoyed.
Ever since they met up in the Entrance Hall to go to the Potions Club together, Lily has been non-stop talking about how his friends are dragging him down.
"Well, you should! Your reputation is at the stake! No matter what the teachers say, they listen to the gossip too! Who knows, some might even believe something awful and change their opinion of you!" cried Lily, but after a while, she continued her little story, "But not to worry! Naturally, I told them that it was not true. I mean, if it was just Avery, Mulciber, Wilkes, or someone else, I could believe it, but you? You are the last person I would expect to take part in something like this!"
While Severus was glad that she stood up for him, there was a bad feeling in his stomach. Was it anger? Frustration? Or disappointment?
Before he could stop himself, he blurted out with a sarcastic tone, "Of course, amazing Potter cannot be bested by someone like me."
Lily just sighed, "You know, that's not what I meant-" she started to say, but she was silenced by Severus raising his hand.
"That's enough. I don't want to fight about this again," he said, frustrated.
"We wouldn't be fighting if only you chose better friends," said Lily and Severus just rolled his eyes.
While he was on good terms with the Slytherins, he wouldn't call them his friends. As far as Severus was concerned, he only had one friend, Lily. He was sure that if the boys knew even half of the things that the witch knew about him, they would join Potter and his crew in ridiculing him.
When they arrived in dungeon five, it was already time to start, and Matthias Bulstrode walked up to the teacher's desk.
"Attention, please! Since the professor had other matters to attend to, I will be the one overlooking today's club activities. Please adhere to the lab safety rules and regulations. If you have any questions, I encourage you to ask. The aim of this club is for you to learn, so there is no shame in asking since we are all learning here." he finished with a small smile.
Remus Lupin was many things, but a potion-brewer was not one of them. After Matthias finished his little speech about safety and gave information on where to find the ingredients, he walked up to his table to tutor him.
But not before stopping at the table in front of his.
"Not brewing today?" he asked Evelyn Williams, who had nothing in front of her, just a book.
"No, today I'm just helping Bonnie," said Evelyn as she gave him a small smile.
Remus just rolled his eyes. It was one of the reasons he disliked Slytherins. There were just so fake. Every word, every smile, everything was just an act.
"Alright, have fun, and if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," he said, flashing her a charming smile.
Afterwards, he walked up to Remus and started to tutor him.
"Alright, first I need to see how you do by yourself, so chose a potion and try to make it. I will observe and point out your mistakes," he said and soon the Remus began to work on his potion.
Everything was going well until a third-year girl asked Matthias for help and he had to leave the table. As he was left alone, Remus went through the instructions again, making sure to pay attention. However, he found himself listening to the conversation of the girls sitting in front of him.
"Severus looks annoyed, doesn't he?" asked Bonnie as she watched the Slytherin and the Gryffindor working on their potions.
"Focus on your potion and not on others," instructed Evelyn, who didn't even look up from her book.
"I know, but-"
"No buts! This is why you are just barely passing. If you paid more attention to your potions, you could be top of the class."
"But it's so boring! I mean, I added what I had and now I just have to wait," said Bonnie and Evelyn just sighed, before he put her bookmark in the book and put it away.
"Pay attention to the time. If you add the rest of the ingredients too quickly or too late, the result might be completely different," explained Evelyn, "think of it as cooking. You have the ingredients and recipe and you have to make a dish. Just like when you are waiting for your dish to arrive at a restaurant; imagine what you want to get and focus on getting the result you want."
As time passed, Evelyn kept explaining what, how and why had to be done to successfully brew the potion they were making, and Remus found himself amazed by the amount of patience Evelyn showed. Not to say that he has also found it admirable how the girl in the same year was able to explain the reason why the ingredients had to be added. They were in the same year, same age, and yet he learned more from listening to her for 10 minutes than he has ever learned from Slughorn.
"What's the next step?" she asked Bonnie, who read out the instruction from the book.
"Remove the potion from the heat entirely and allow it to cool for 3 minutes. Add 90 ml Flobberworm mucus to the potion and stir it once clockwise with your wand and then switch to a wooden spoon or non-magical utensil until it's of even consistency."
"Alright, alright, first thing first. You don't have to do everything at once. Read it slowly and do step by step what it says," instructed Evelyn.
"Okay, so remove the potion," she said as she removed the cauldron from the heat. "and now we wait 3 minutes," she added as she turned to the clock on the wall.
Remus smiled at her actions. It was cute how she performed everything like it was in the instructions. Also, he was glad that there was someone as bad as he was at potions.
"By the way, how is your little project coming along?" asked Bonnie as she continued to watch the clock as if the time would change suddenly if she took her eyes off it.
Evelyn just sighed before she answered, "Honestly, I don't know. It's not like I have anyone to test it on, so I'm only guessing. Hypothetically, it could work, but since I lack a test subject, I don't know if it works in practice. Also, I still need to work out a few things…"
"Oh, well, I'm not good at potions, but if I can help, let me know…" said Bonnie.
"If you had a werewolf it would help greatly," laughed Evelyn, and Remus's eyes went wide.
In his shock, he accidentally let go of the ingredient he was holding, which fell into the cauldron. Unfortunately, he not only forgot to turn down the heat, but he added too much too soon, and in the next moment, his cauldron was overflowing with purple bubbles. When he realised what happened, he let out a couple of swear words as he tried to make it stop.
Meanwhile, the three minutes were up, and the girls finished their potion. They put the potion in a small glass and packed their things. While they were packing, Bonnie took a glimpse at his table and let out a startled yelp, which made Evelyn turn around.
"What the- Lupin what did you do?!" she asked angrily as she made their way to his table while asking him if he turned down the heat and asking about the potion that he was making.
He told her everything she needed to know, but she just rolled her eyes while mumbling about how he should pay attention to what he was doing.
"Yes, I know! Can you stop it?" he asked nervously.
"Me? We are in the same year, how should I know what to do?!" she asked, but then turned to look around the room, before she shouted "Um, Bulstrode! We have a situation here!"
As expected, everyone turned to them, and Remus could see Matthias' startled expression before he hurriedly walked over.
"Please step back!" he said as he magically turned off the heat and cast a couple of spells and, after a while, the bubbles stopped flowing from the cauldron.
Everyone let out a relieved sigh.
"See? This is why you have to follow the recipe," said Evelyn as she turned to Bonnie before they said goodbye and left the classroom.
"I - I see that you will be requiring my constant attention…" mumbled Matthias. "Now clean this up and I will deal with you afterwards," he said as he walked back to the third year that he was helping.
As Remus cast Scourgify, he kept thinking about what he heard. Williams was researching something regarding werewolves, and he knew that he need to find out what.
After walking back to their dorm, the girls took a shower and got ready for dinner. When they arrived at the Great Hall, they were greeted by Lucinda.
"Oh look, our studious little friends have arrived!" she teased them, and both Evelyn and Bonnie stuck out their tongues in response.
"Very mature…" commented Emma. "How was the club? You learned something new?" she asked Bonnie when they sat down.
"Yes, next time you two should come too! Evie is a great teacher!" she said.
"Judging by how much you read, it would be disappointing if you weren't," said Lucinda.
"Just because I know a lot, it doesn't mean that I can effectively teach it," argued Evelyn.
"True, I mean, professor Binns knows a lot, but he is probably the worst teacher here…" added Bonnie.
That was when Snape and Evans walked in.
"Those two were together again?" asked Emma suspiciously.
"Why wouldn't they be? They are friends," said Evelyn simply, as she helped herself to a piece of Shepperd's pie.
"You don't mind it?" asked Emma, surprised.
"Why would I? It's none of my business,"
"None of your business?! You heard her?! None of her business!" looked Emma at Lucinda.
"Girl, if she steals your man, you won't have anyone to play pretend with," said Lucinda and Evelyn just laughed.
"Steals my man?! Okay, first of all, they have known each other longer. If anyone is stealing here, that's me,"
"True," piped in Bonnie.
"Okay, just don't cry when she snatches him away," said Emma.
"Oh, and if we are already talking about it, tomorrow is Sunday. It's your first date, isn't it?" asked Bonnie excited and Evelyn just nodded.
"So, what are you going to do?" asked Emma.
"Hah, knowing Evie, they will be in the library," laughed Lucinda, but when Evelyn remained quiet, they all looked at her.
"You cannot mean…" started Emma.
"I - It's not like it was our first idea! But it's not a Hogsmeade weekend, and we haven't started on the Transfiguration essay, so why not?!" said Evelyn, while blushing furiously, "A-Anyway, if you are all so good at this stuff, why am I the only one going on a date tomorrow?" she asked as she stood up and walked out of the Great Hall.
The girls just looked at each other as she walked out.
"We need to help her…" said Emma, and the others just nodded.
