Snape's Grudge

The castle was searched, however, Professor McGonagall returned to Gryffindor Tower in the early hours of the morning and informed them that Black had once again escaped.

Security was tightened the next day, Flitwick teaching the front doors to recognise a large picture of Sirius Black, and Filch began boarding up every crack and mouse hole he could find.

Ron was enjoying the attention being showered on him due to the last night's events, and soon everyone knew he was telling the truth when the Sir Cadogan was sacked and the Fat Lady restored to her position. She demanded that she have a group of security trolls to protect her, so from then on trolls roamed the corridor just outside the portrait hole.

Neville was no longer allowed to know the password into Gryffindor Tower, and had to wait outside with the trolls leering at him until someone let him in. He received a Howler at breakfast and John watched him flee the Great Hall.

'It's hardly his fault if he couldn't remember all the stupid passwords Sir Cadogan was giving out,' John said, shaking his head bitterly.

Hedwig then landed in front of Harry with a note from Hagrid.

Dear Harry and Ron,

How about having tea with me this evening around six? You can bring John and Sherlock and Casstiel. I'll come and collect you from the castle. WAIT FOR ME IN THE ENTRANCE HALL, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED OUT ON YOUR OWN.

Cheers,

Hagrid

So, at six o'clock that evening, they all met up in the Entrance Hall, where Hagrid was already waiting for them.

'Can Dean come?' Cas asked once they reached him.

''Course. The more the merrier. Dean..?

'Oh, Winchester, sir,' said Dean.

'Winchester? Aren' you meant ter be in my class?'

Dean grinned sheepishly. 'Uh, yeah, sorta.'

Hagrid rolled his eyes and led them out of the castle.

The first thing they saw on entering Hagrid's cabin was Buckbeak, tearing into a large plate of dead ferrets.

'What're they for?' Harry asked, pointing at an ugly, brown, hairy suit, with a horrid yellow and orange tie.

'Buckbeak's case against the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures,' said Hagrid. 'This Friday. Him an' me'll be goin' down to London together. I've booked two beds on the Knight Bus…'

'Mycroft will be assisting in the defense of your case,' Sherlock said softly. 'He's very good at that sort of thing, though I'm not sure how much difference it will make.'

'No matter what the verdict, I'm grateful fer everything you and yer brother have done fer me an' Beaky,' Hagrid said, pouring large mugs of tea. 'I won' never forget it.'

'Think nothing of it. He doesn't deserve this treatment, especially from the likes of Malfoy.'

John looked at Sherlock and was surprised to see quite a genuine expression on his face.'

'What have I missed?' Dean asked, taking a sip of tea and wrinkling his nose at it.

'Draco Malfoy insulted Buckbeak and he attacked,' Cas explained to him. 'As I understand it, Sherlock's brother has been blocking it as much as he can, but he has not been successful.'

'Wait,' said Dean. 'Everyone knows that it's dangerous to insult a Hippogriff. He just did what Hippogriffs do, right? Case closed.'

'You'd have thought,' Sherlock said sourly.

Hagrid finished with the tea and sat down. 'I got somethin' ter discuss with you two,' he said, looking at Harry and Ron, uncharacteristically serious.

'What?' said Harry.

'Hermione,' said Hagrid.

'What about her?' said Ron.

'She's in a righ' state, that's what. She's bin comin' down ter visit me a lot since Christmas. Bin feelin' lonely. Not blamin' the rest o' yeh, she knows yeh've had a lot on, but you two. Firs' yeh weren' talkin' to her because o' the Firebolt, now yer not talkin' to her because her cat-'

'-ate Scabbers!' Ron interjected angrily.

'Because her cat acted like all cats do,' Hagrid continued doggedly. 'She's cried a fair few times, yeh know. Goin' through a rough time at the moment. Bitten off more'n she can chew, if yeh ask me, all the work she's tryin' ter do. Still found time ter help me with Buckbeak's case, mind. She's found some really good stuff fer me… reckon he'll stand a good chance now, especially if Mycroft's helping.'

Harry and Ron looked at each other guiltily. Clearly they had forgotten all about it.

'Really upset, she was, when Black nearly stabbed yeh, Ron. She's got her heart in the right place, Hermione has, an' you two not talkin' to her-'

'If she'd just get rid of the cat, I'd talk to her again,' Ron said angrily. 'But she's still sticking up for it! It's a maniac, and she won't hear a word against it!'

'Ah well, people can be a bit stupid about their pets,' Hagrid said wisely.

They all said goodbye to Hagrid and made their way up to Gryffindor Tower, where there was a crowd of people around the notice board.

'Looks like another Hogsmeade weekend,' said Ron, craning to see over their heads. 'What do you reckon?' he added quietly to Harry.

'Harry!' Hermione appeared from behind a giant stack of books. 'If you go to Hogsmeade again… I'll tell Professor McGonagall about that map!'

'So no you're trying to get Harry expelled! Haven't you done enough damage this year?' Ron said savagely.

'That's enough, Ron,' Castiel said boldly. 'I am sorry about Scabbers, but this is going too far.'

'What if that thing ate your pet?' Ron shot back. 'How would you feel?'

'I would miss Grace dearly, but not as much as I would Hermione. You ought to rethink your priorities,' said Cas. Clearly considering the matter closed, he turned to Hermione. 'You must take a break. I inisist.' He put his arm around her and walked her out of the common room.

Dean shrugged awkwardly and went to talk to Fred and George.

'Do you believe that?' said Ron.

'Well, he's not wrong,' John said. 'It's like Hargrid said, it's what cats do.'

'Fine, take her side.' He stormed off and they didn't see him again until the next morning.

John came down to breakfast in relatively good spirits, decked out in woolly hat and gloves for the cold weather.

'I'll see you out there,' Ron muttered to John on his way out of the Great Hall.

'You think Harry'll sneak out today?' John said to Sherlock in a low voice.

'Almost certainly,' Sherlock murmured back.

'Don't tell Hermione?'

'I wouldn't want to worry her.'

John took a bite of his cereal. 'Seen Castiel this morning?'

'No. He was already gone when I woke up.'

'Maybe he went to visit Madam Pomfrey or something.'

'Maybe.'

John finished his breakfast, then they made their way down to the castle gates. There was no sign of Castiel by the time they passed the Dementors, only Dean looking for him.

'Haven't seen him,' said John, eating the square of chocolate he'd brought with him. 'You want to come with us to the Three Broomsticks?'

'Sure, why not?'

There was an awkward silence, which Sherlock was more than happy to participate in. John was not, however. 'What's your family like, Dean?' he asked.

'Uh, my dad works for the Magical Congress as an Auror. He's away a lot. My mom was a No-Maj – I mean Muggle – but I remember her being super happy when I first started showing signs of magic.'

'What was it?' Sherlock asked. 'Your first sign?'

'My mom walked in on me levitating my baby brother, Sam's toys for him,' Dean smiled. 'Yours?'

'I was messing with Mycroft and I turned myself invisible. He couldn't find me for three days. Made himself quite ill. I had no idea, of course, and was quite upset that no one was paying attention to me,' Sherlock chuckled.

Dean grinned. 'Yeah, it's mostly just my brother and me, but we got a really nice place when we moved here. There's not much to do since it's a village, but Sam likes it.'

They arrived at the Three Broomsticks and sat down with a Butterbeer each.

'If he's coming, he'll find us here,' John said reassuringly to Dean.

'If he can get past the Dementors on his own,' said Dean, frowning. 'He still won't ask Lupin if he can come to lessons with Harry.'

'Maybe he's worried he won't be able to come up with a happy memory,' said John. 'I'd rather avoid it too, if I had to relive what he does every time I went near a Dementor.'

'That's a good point,' said Dean. 'All right, I gotta go to the little boys' room.'

As soon as Dean left, John was suddenly very restless, bouncing his legs under the table.

'What's wrong?' Sherlock asked.

John looked anxiously out of the window, then stood up. 'I have to go,' he said urgently.

'What? Why?'

He didn't answer, instead bolting out of the pub.

'John, wait!'

Dean came back out of the bathroom just in time to see Sherlock running after him. 'Well that's rude,' he muttered to himself. He finished his Butterbeer, the tipped Madam Rosmerta on his way out. He was walking along aimlessly, thinking he might go and find Fred and George, when he saw someone staggering around just down the road. 'Cas?' he said, squinting, hardly believing his eyes.

'Dean!' Cas said delightedly, a slight slur to his voice. He did a funny sort of twirl, then walked up to Dean, his feet dragging.

'Cas, what happened?' Dean asked, grabbing Cas by the shoulder to stop him swaying.

'I f-found a bottle of firewhiskey,' he said, eyelids drooping lazily.

'And?'

'And I drank it. Well, most of it.' Cas yanked a glass bottle out of his pocket and took a swig, It was almost empty.

'Hey, stop that!' Dean said, taking it from him.

'Deeeeaaaan!' Cas said indignantly, reaching for the bottle and nearly falling over.

'What the hell, man?' said Dean, holding it out of his reach.

'I got past the Dementors all by myself,' Cas said loudly. 'All by myself.'

Dean grimaced. 'I think we should go find your brother.'

'No, not Gabriel. He'll be so-so-so sad. He won't want to see me anymore.' He started to cry.

'Hey, that's not true,' Dean said softly. 'Not even a little bit.'

Cas shook his head. 'It is. He'll be so disappointed.'

'I'm sure he won't. Come on, let's go find him and I'll prove it.'

'I can't, Dean, I can't.' Cas sat down on the ground and buried his head in his hands.

Dean knelt down beside him. 'What's going on, man? You gotta tell me, so we can figure out how to make it better.'

Cas sat silently for a while, then reached a hand down his shirt. He pulled put a simple silver crucifix on a simple chain. 'This was hers,' he murmured. 'She gave it to me for my birthday.' He stared at it for a moment. 'It's getting worse. Every time I walk past them it's like having my heart ripped out all over again. I don't want to feel it anymore,' he said, voice cracking.

'That makes sense,' Dean nodded, 'but you don't need this.' He shook the whiskey bottle.

'What do you mean?' Cas said. He looked up, eyes and cheeks wet.

'Next time, why don't you come in the way Harry comes. That way you don't even need to go near them.'

'That could work.'

'Yeah!' He grinned at Cas. 'Come on.' Dean hauled him to his feet, steadying him until he gained some balance. 'Let's go find Gabriel… and get you some water. You're so going to regret this tomorrow.'

'What do you mean?'

'Oh, you'll find out.'

Meanwhile John, who had not even see Castiel on his sprint through Hogsmeade, found himself in Honeydukes. His hand shot out almost of its own accord and grabbed what he thought was thin air, but must have been Harry under the Invisibility Cloak. He pulled Harry down the basement and into the passage between the sweet shop and Hogwarts. 'Come on,' he hissed urgently, almost dragging Harry along the passage. 'Leave the Cloak.'

Harry ripped it off and they ran as fast as they could.

They reached the end of the passage at last and jumped out, concealing the entrance just as Snape rounded the corner.

'So,' he said, a look of supressed triumph on his face. 'Come with me, both of you.'

They followed him down to his dungeon office, trying to level out their heavy breathing without Snape noticing.

'Sit,' said Snape.

They did as they were told, though Snape remained standing.

'Mr Malfoy has just been to see me with a strange story. He tells me that he was up by the Shrieking Shack when he ran into Weasley, apparently alone. Mr Malfoy states that he was standing talking to Weasley, when a large amount of mud hit him in the back of the head. How do you think that could have happened?'

John's eyebrows shot up. 'No idea,' he said truthfully.

'Mr Malfoy then saw an extraordinary apparition. Can you imagine what it might have been?'

'No,' said Harry.

'It was your head, Potter. Floating in mid-air.'

'Whoa,' said John. 'The Shrieking Shack, right? It's pretty haunted up there.'

'It wasn't a ghost,' Snape snapped. 'If your head was in Hogsmeade, Potter, so was the rest of you.'

'I've been up in Gryffindor Tower,' said Harry.

'Can anyone confirm that?'

'I can,' said John.

Harry shot him a brief, grateful look.

'That's odd, Watson, considering I saw you leave with Holmes this morning.' Snape looked satisfied. 'How extraordinarily like your father you are, Potter. He, too, was exceedingly arrogant. A small amount of talent on the Quidditch pitch made him think he was a cut above the rest of us, too.' Snape leaned towards Harry as he said this. He seemed to have forgotten that John was there. 'Strutting around the place with his friends and admirers… The resemblance between you is uncanny.'

'My dad didn't strut,' said Harry, causing John to groan quietly. 'And nor do I.'

'Your father didn't set much store by the rules, either,' Snape went on. 'Rules were for lesser mortals, not Quidditch Cup winners. His head was so swollen-'

'SHUT UP!'

John winced and rubbed his face. He felt himself sinking in his chair, hoping to be as inconspicuous as possible.

'What did you say to me, Potter?'

'I told you to shut up about my dad!' Harry yelled. 'I know the truth, all right? He saved your life! Dumbledore told me! You wouldn't even be here if it weren't for my dad!'

John sat in complete shock, wondering just what exactly he'd gotten himself into.

'Turn out your pockets, Potter,' Snape spat suddenly.

Harry didn't move.

'Turn out your pockets, or we go straight to the Headmaster!'

Harry slowly emptied his pockets, which contained a bag of tricks from Zonko's Joke Shop and the Marauder's Map.

Snape picked up the Zonko's bag.

'Ron gave them to me,' Harry said quickly.

'Indeed? And you've been carrying them around ever since? How very touching… and what is this?'

Snape picked up the map and John held his breath.

'Spare bit of parchment,' Harry shrugged.

'Surely you don't need such a very old piece of parchment?' said Snape. 'Why don't I just throw it away?' His hand moved towards the fire.

'No!'

John groaned again.

'So! Is this another treasure gift from Mr Weasley? Or is it something else? A letter, perhaps written in invisible ink? Or instructions to get into Hogsmeade without passing the Dementors? Let me see.' He pulled his wand out and smoothed the map out on the desk. 'Reveal your secret!' he said, touching his wand to the parchment. Nothing happened. 'Show yourself!' He tapped the map sharply. It stayed blank. 'Professor Severus Snape, master of this school, commands you to yield the information you conceal!' said Snape, hitting the map with his wand.

As though an invisible hand was writing upon it, words appeared on the smooth surface of the map.

'Mr Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business.'

Snape froze and John's mouth dropped open in horror. More writing then appeared.

'Mr Prongs agrees with Mr Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git.'

It would have been very funny if not for the look on Snape's face. Still the map was not finished.

'Mr Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a Professor.'

John bit his lip, watching the map have its final word.

'Mr Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball.'

'So…' Snape said softly. 'We'll see about this…' He strode across to the fire, seized a fistful of glittering powder from a jar on the fireplace, and threw it into the flames. 'Lupin!' he called into the fire. 'I want a word.'

A large shape appeared in the fire, revolving very fast, and Professor Lupin clambered out of the fireplace.

'You called, Severus?' he said mildly.

John looked up and saw Professor Lupin's face shimmering oddly. He shuddered and fell out of his chair. He clutched at his head in an attempt to stop it from spinning quite so much, and blood flowed from his nose, dripping on the cold stone floor. After a minute, he regained some sense, and tried to remember what Sherlock had said. He needed an instrument of some kind, but what? He looked at the fire and recalled that Trelawney had said something about fire omens. Squinting at it, he tried to discern anything at all from the flames, but all that happened was in increase in intensity in the stabbing sensation in his forehead. He closed his eyes again and hissed through his teeth, waiting for the pain to subside. Eventually, it faded and he felt cool hands on his shoulders. He knew who it was without looking, and allowed Sherlock to help him to his feet. He opened his eyes and saw Lupin looking at him concernedly, whilst tucking the map into his pocket. Ron was there too, trying to catch his breath.

'Are you all right, John?' Lupin asked.

John nodded and winced.

'What's wrong? Perhaps you should go to Madam Pomfrey.'

'He's a Seer, Professor,' Sherlock said. 'He's still learning how to control it.'

'A Seer? How interesting.'

'I'm not,' John mumbled. 'I can't do it.'

Snape was looking murderous at Sherlock and Ron's intrusion, so Lupin said, 'If you'll excuse us, Severus, I'd like a word with these boys about their vampire essays.'

They swiftly exited Snape's office, none of them saying a word until they reached the Entrance Hall.

'I don't want to hear explanations,' Lupin said shortly when Harry opened his mouth. 'I happen to know that that map was confiscated by Mr Filch many years ago. Yes, I know it's a map. I don't want to know how it fell into your possession. I am, however, astounded that you didn't hand it in. Particularly after what happened last time a student left information about the castle lying around. I can't let you have it back. These mapmakers would have found it extremely entertaining trying to lure you out of the school.'

'Do you know them?' said Harry.

'We've met.' Lupin looked at Harry seriously. 'Don't expect me to cover for you again, Harry. I cannot make you take Sirius Black seriously. But I would have thought that what you hear whenever the Dementors draw near you would have had more of an effect on you. Your parents gave their lives for yours, Harry. A poor way to repay them – gambling their sacrifice on a bag of magic tricks.' He walked away, leaving them in silence.

Slowly, they made their way up the marble staircase.

'It's my fault,' said Ron as they approached Gryffindor Tower. 'I convinced you to go…'

He trailed off as they reached the corridor where the security trolls were pacing.

Hermione was waiting by the Fat Lady and walked over to them as soon as she saw them.

'Come to have a good gloat?' Ron said savagely, assuming she had heard what happened. 'Or have you just been to tell on us?'

'No,' said Hermione. She was holding a letter in her hand and her lip was trembling. 'I just thought you ought to know… Hagrid lost his case. Buckbeak is going to be executed.'

Welcome back everyone! Thanks to Sherlock Harry Winchester and Tacosaurus for the reviews. It's good to see you all again and I hope to be back very soon.