They Didn't Know We Were Seeds
"Severus!" rejoices Gwendolyn Jones. Letting go of her father's hand, she manages to dart away from him and through the thin crowd separating them to Severus in a matter of seconds.
Stumbling back from the force of her hug, he has to place a hand on top of her head to steady himself. "Hello, Gwendolyn."
She smiles broadly at him. "It's been forever since I saw you!"
"Ah, well, Hogwarts you know…" he murmurs, watching Mr. Jones come up behind his daughter.
Face red with irritation, he grabs Gwendolyn by the back of her cloak and yanks her off Severus. "Gwendolyn Eve Jones! What did I tell you before we left home?"
Now pouting, the girl sing-songs, "Stay by my side when we're on the street at all times."
"Your mother will be hearing about this," Mr. Jones tells Gwendolyn.
She wails, "I don't wanna scrub the bathroom floors!"
An unsympathetic frown on his face, the large man says, "Perhaps you'll listen better next time, eh?" Mr. Jones next looks at Severus, gaze slightly apologetic as he explains, "My wife gives the girls the chores they hate most when they misbehave, you see. I'm quite sorry about this."
Severus feels an amused smirk pull at his lips. A woman after his own heart. Giving students cleaning tasks had always been a favorite punishment of his as well. "It's no trouble, Mr. Jones," he says.
"It really was kind of you to agree to a meeting for a trip to Honeydukes, I know a lad your age would rather be with your mates."
Slowly starting to walk them in the direction of said sweet shop, Severus shakes his head. "Ah, well, Sirus has detention and Lily's having a day with her roommates."
"What about that other boy? Sage?"
"My brother. He's ill. Otherwise, he likely would have come."
Mr. Jones makes a sympathetic noise. "I hope he's not too poorly."
Severus nods. "No. Just a bit stuffed up and achy, he told me. He'd rather sleep than go out." He then feels a tug on his sleeve. He looks down to see Gwendolyn pouting at him. "Talk to meee," she whines. "Did you win your duel?"
He gives a put-upon sigh. "If I must." Then, with a wink, to let the girl know he's only having a laugh, he tells her, "I won. Lily was a good opponent, but not nearly as skilled as I."
She claps her hands. "Yay!" Eyes big, Gwendolyn asks, "D'you think you'll be the winner of the entire school?"
Mr. Jones coughs into his hand as Severus shrugs. "We'll have to see, won't we?" Severus knows he could be. Though, he'll likely let someone else win. A fourth-year beating out a seventh or sixth year at dueling might be a bit too suspicious to happen without some wondering if Severus cheated. That's an accusation he'd rather not have following him around.
"You will, I think," replies Gwendolyn after a moment.
He finds himself smiling. "Oh?"
Surprisingly serious, the girl bobs her head. "Yes. 'Cause you protected me and Hestia during the summer. I bet none of the big kids your gonna duel have kept anyone safe like that."
Severus shares a brief look over Gwendolyn's head with her father, who seems a bit glassy-eyed from his daughter's words. He wonders how much their family talks about the attack. He's sure it's not left his mind that his daughter was nearly killed.
Softly, he concedes, "Perhaps you're right."
-o-O-o-
Tuesday afternoon it slowly passes around that they now have a second-year champion. To Severus (and likely his too) satisfaction, it is Scabior. The boy swans into Slytherin's dorm after dinner with a smirk on his face. Some of his fellow second-years look at him with envious, hateful eyes while a few get up to try and talk to him. They want to know what he does. Be his mate and reap whatever perks there are to being it. Scabior ignores them all. Well, except for Felicity Flint. he sticks his tongue out at her in a very uncouth, childish display.
The girl rolls her eyes and turns herself away to talk Maeve Goyle.
Severus never paid her or Scabior enough mind the first time to know if this… antagonistic relationship of theirs develops one way or another, but he can't say he'll be surprised if something happens between them down the line. Not that much will come of it. Or last, he suspects. Flint's family may not number among the elite right now, but they're on the up. As for the Scabiors… their status doesn't improve much, if at all over the next twenty or so years (perhaps that will be another thing that changes this time).
Severus is pulled from his thoughts when Scabior stops in front of him. "I want to beat Crouch."
"He's quite clever." He eyes Scabior. "More than you, I'd say."
The boy scowls. "Belt up!"
"That's not a good way to get me to help you, you know." Severus isn't all that worried about his coming duel with Dirk Cresswell on Friday, but he figures he may want to pretend he is. He shouldn't be assisting Scabior too much. Otherwise, he may end up having to face him in a duel. There's no way he'd let the little prick beat him, but it'd still be annoying if winning against Scabior leads him to being a sore loser that wants nothing to do with Severus. He's trying to help Scabior. Last year was difficult enough when it came to Scabior, he doesn't want to return to that after the dueling competition is over.
"Sorry," Scabior growls through his teeth finally.
Severus decides to be magnanimous and accept the apology. "Alright, he says. "I suppose I can offer a little more assistance."
He thinks he'll talk to Lily later. She might be open to practicing with Wong (the first years winner) so she can have a fighting chance against Scabior when the year-champions start facing one another. Plus, if she manages to win, it'll teach Scabior a good lesson about underestimating others.
-o-O-o-
"Good luck," says Sage as he passes him on his way to the front of the class.
Severus twists back around and smiles at his brother. "Thank you."
Popping up behind Sage, Sirius tells him, "Hurry up! I want to see you kick Cresswell's arse!"
As Sage jumps, he rolls his eyes. "Of course Sirius. Just for you."
The boy laughs, only for it to be cut short when Lily slips into place next to him and pinches his arm. "Stop distracting Severus," she hisses. "Go on, go up front." Then, a little hesitantly, she begs, "Don't toy with him too much, alright?"
He raises an eyebrow at Lily. He's not sure what's got her so worried, but he thinks a bit of assurance won't be amiss. "Of course."
She smiles in relief.
Trying to keep the amusement on his face, Severus turns away from them and goes to the spot his grandfather is gesturing for him to stand. Once he plants his feet in a ready-position and squares his shoulders, he takes in the boy, Dirk Cresswell, across from him. He's a stick right now. All long limbs and a skinny torso. He'll fill out, Severus knows. Though not by a lot. He always looked a little too thin for his height if he recalls correctly.
Cresswell's expression is a boy's version of fierce. Lips pulled down into a frown, brows pushed together. He looks ill more than he looks mean. As for Severus, he doesn't bother with faces. He just stares at his opponent, trying to think of what he may expect out of him once Demitri tells them to start. Cresswell's sharp. He nearly got away from the Muggle-born Registration Commission with a fake family tree. He escaped on his way to Azkaban once his tree was proved a forgery too and managed to do alright until the Death Eaters caught up with him and killed him.
While Severus suspects it'll be easy enough to dispatch the boy, he's curious enough to see where his skills are now to play with him for a bit.
"…And you may begin!" his grandfather finally declares.
Cresswell wastes no time. He shoots off a spell in Severus's direction almost instantly. Twisting out of its path, Severus throws back a leg-locking jinx. Cresswell dodges and blocks the next spell Severus casts at him in the process. Suitably impressed by the skill he sees the Muggle-born displaying, Severus lets him almost hit him with a hex before he deflects it at the last second.
As they continue to duel Severus finds himself less surprised and affected by the boy's skill and more curious. Is this how he managed to convince others he wasn't a Muggle-born in their first lifetime? By being a magical prodigy? Or did he have a friend growing up that was Magical – as Lily did? Or… Well, surely he'd have noticed before now if that were the case?
Exchanging several more spells, Severus finally sees his chance to take out the Ravenclaw. Severus calls out the incantation for a Jelly-Finger curse and watches Cresswell's expression turn to one of caught dismay as it hits his wand hand.
Instantly, his wand falls from his useless fingers. Severus calls the stick to him and holds it up for his grandfather, and the rest of the gathered, to see.
"And the fourth-year champion is Severus Snape!" proclaims his grandfather. There's not much smugness to his tone this time, but that is to be expected. Cresswell is fifteen, not twenty-five in a fifteen-year-old body (like Lily was). This is an expected win by not only Severus, but by Demitri and Lily too.
Even so, he seems pleased. Severus can't help but be happy about that. His mother discussed in her last letter to him that, if he's willing, she'd like for them to spend a few weeks at Demitri's home during the summer. Slowly, Severus is becoming receptive to the idea. Especially if it means his mother will continue to be this woman who writes him and asks about his time at Hogwarts rather than to just tell him pertinent information about things happening at home that he ought to know.
He walks over to Cresswell and hands him his wand. His fingers now fixed, thanks to Demitiri, the boy grabs it. "Good match," Severus compliments.
The towering lad sneers. "Yeah."
Severus bites back to the urge to cut into the prat. Instead, he steps back and heads over to where Lily, Sage, and the Marauders hover near the front of the Gryffindor and Slytherin crowd. To Severus's relief, Lily leaps forward to wrap him in an embrace. "Congratulations!" she cries.
Keeping his arm around her middle a moment longer than strictly necessary, he leans in so he can murmur in her ear. "Keep an eye on Cresswell. I think there's something there."
When he pulls away, the cheer has left Lily's face, to be replaced with worry. Severus instantly regrets saying anything. There's no way he'll be able to elaborate on it for some time yet. He should have just waited until this evening when they could go to their classroom to speak about it. Of course, it's too late now. He puts on his best happy face and talks with Sage and the Marauders as Lily regains her bearing and falls into place beside him. Her face plastered with its own fake grin.
What do you think of this Cresswell stuff? Is he just an asshole? Or is there something more to it you think? Also, the cute scene with Gwendolyn at the top! How did you guys enjoy that? The scene with Scabior?
Thank you so very much for reading everyone :)