Lawrence felt quite an amount pain when the fang of Shamira dug on his skin. "I'm sorry I can't save you." he said, very regretful that he killed Shamira. He was still right about her though. She just didn't have any choice but to obey Riddle. From below him, he could see that Harry was still in a duel with the teenage Voldemort. He climbed down from the head of Salazar Slytherin, fang in hand, and walked as fast as he could before his knees betrayed him. He fell down on the ground, but it didn't assuage him, he stood up again and limped all the way until he's by Ginny's side.
Fawkes dropped something in front of him, Tom Riddle's diary. As he looked at the diary, a Harry's voice-a-like telling him that it should be destroyed kept ringing in his mind. He took the diary and held Shamira's fang in the other and then stabbed the diary without so much of a second thought. The light emitting from the spells that Harry and Riddle were throwing at each other disappeared. A pair of scream echoed through the chamber when he stabbed the diary. It was Riddle's and Harry's. He figured that maybe his twin got hit by a curse so he stabbed the diary once more this time even harder. And then after a flash of light, teenage Voldemort disappeared as if he wasn't even there to begin with.
Harry was still standing, but it wasn't a minute later when the elder twin fell on the ground.
"Harry!" Lars kept on yelling. He wanted to stand and run to his brother but he couldn't. "HARRY!"
"Lars!" he turned his head to see Ginny looking startled. "I swear, I didn't-" he raised his left hand to stop her from speaking and gasped out "I know that he was controlling you." Ginny suddenly looked down and he heard a sob escaping her.
"Thank you." she said quietly.
"No problem," he replied, looking at where his brother's at.
Lars wanted to go near his older twin's side but can't find the strength to do so. The pain on his arm was starting to become unbearable, his vision starting to become a bit blurred. And then he realized that it must be because of Shamira's venom. A little while later, he heard a song. Fawkes, he thought with a smile. Dumbledore's phoenix flew around before landing in front of him.
He stared at the phoenix and the phoenix stared back before looking at his injured arm and crying on it. The tears dropped one by one and slowly his wounds from the basilisk's fang began to disappear.
"Of course, Phoenix tears have healing powers!" he exclaimed in delight. "Thanks Fawkes," he said gratefully to the bird before turning to Ginny.
"Are you alright?" And she nodded. That was good enough for him. He jumped up and ran to where Harry fainted.
"Harry, brother please wake up." he said continuously, shaking his brother's body. "Come on brother, don't die on me." Guilt was slowly trying to gather inside of him.
"He is not dead, fledgling." A voice in his mind said. "Do not bawl your eyes out just yet."
Lars blinked. "Did you say something?" he asked Ginny who had just sat down beside him.
"If you would pay attention to the bird, you might know who is communicating with you." The voice sounded a bit annoyed. Lars looked at Fawkes and Fawkes looked back in a way that somewhat says 'well?'
"Were you the one speaking?" he asked Fawkes. He really felt stupid for asking. He was talking to a bird and he actually expected the said bird to reply. He may be a parselmouth but he was no bird-talker.
"I was not technically speaking," Fawkes replied. "I am sending my thoughts to your-" he cut off Fawkes' voice by saying "It doesn't matter, is he really not dead?" he felt tears rolling to his cheek. "Is he really not?"
"Pull yourself together fledgling, your brother, regretful as it is, is not dead...merely unconscious." Lars let out a sigh of relief at that, rubbing his eyes. The moment his twin brother fainted, he really panicked. Not once in his life had he imagine his brother fainting. He didn't even know that Harry fainted like he did last year until Harry told him otherwise.
"Lars..." Ginny began in a small voice. "Who are you talking to?"
Lars thought that maybe he was freaking her out with him talking to Fawkes who only answers mentally. "It's Fawkes...I think." he replied before waving his hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. We have to get out of here."
"Brilliant." Fawkes trilled. "And after a while it has finally dawned on you that you need to leave." Lars frowned. He was a bit disappointed. He expected Fawkes to be, well, less of a sarcastic creature.
"Hold on to me and I will carry you out of this ghastly chamber." Voice Fawkes instructed."And then I shall return for your brother. And by the way, to prevent Ms. Weasley from looking at you as if you are stark raving mad, I suggest that you just push your thoughts into my mind. Just think to me." He nodded at Fawkes' instruction even if he really didn't get just how on earth he could 'push your thoughts into my mind'.
"Is this working?" he thought to himself, or to Fawkes, or whatever.
"Yes, it is working now grab on." Fawkes said, sounding impatient.
"Ginny..." he said softly to Ginny who was looking at Harry with teary eyes.
"Did he help me too?"
"Yes," he replied. "He's the one who held off Riddle. He duelled with him."
"I was so stupid." She kept on saying with a sob.
"Ginny..." she held her hand and looked at her. "You weren't at fault." Actually, he was a bit glad that Harry was the one who got knocked out because he was sure that his twin will callously tell Ginny that it was her fault for being led astray by Riddle.
"You didn't know that Riddle would do you harm. You didn't know that so don't dwell on it too much."
Ginny nodded and then hugged him. He hugged back and patted her back a bit awkwardly. "There, there, it'll be alright." She pulled away and then rubbed the tears away with the sleeve of her gown. "We'll just have to hold on Fawkes, alright? He'll take us back to the ground." he looked at Fawkes again and concentrated on what he wanted to say to the bird.
"Just how exactly are we going to leave?" he asked Fawkes. "The path's blocked."
"Lawrence Potter, your brother has skills," Fawkes said vaguely, and then quickly added "But I still am not overly fond of the boy even if I did just compliment him." He suddenly remembered Harry mentioning that Fawkes was not too fond of him. "Now, if it is all the same to you, I suggest you grab hold now." Fawkes was definitely impatient.
After getting back his wand that Riddle had annoyingly tainted with casting dark magic, Lars grabbed hold of Ginny's hand and he had Ginny hold the sword and the hat as he gripped Fawkes' ankle. With one swift movement, they were hovering above the ground and out of the chamber. Lars noticed that there really was a path. It was like the rocks crumbled to dust. They passed through where they were and out they came in Myrtle's bathroom. He took the sword and the hat once they were on their feet.
"Lars!" he turned and saw that it was Ron looking like he was waiting for them. He was going to ask Fawkes if he was the one who helped Ron and Lockhart as well but the bird disappeared. A minute later Fawkes returned with Harry hanging by its claws.
"Come on Ron, help me here," he told his friend. "We have to get him to the hospital wing." Fawkes squawked at him whilst shaking its head.
"What?" he asked the bird. "Are you bringing him to the hospital wing?" Fawkes nodded. Lars was a bit dubious but relented anyway.
"Just leave and I will handle him." Fawkes' voice said in his mind. "Proceed to the Headmaster's office." Lars nodded and took Ron, Ginny, and Lockhart with him to the said office.
"Uhm..." he trailed off, not knowing what the password was, having forgotten to ask Fawkes about it. "Look can you just allow us to step through? We really need to go there." The gargoyle didn't bulge and really, he didn't have the time nor the patience to guess whatever candy the Headmaster had chosen as a password now.
With exasperation and frustration, Lars hissed "As an heir of two of the founders of this school I demand entrance." His eyes widened when it actually worked but Ron and Ginny looked oddly at him.
"Just step through." he said to them. And they did step through.
Before they even knocked, the door opened itself for them. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were there, and so were Professors Snape (who looked like he was looking for something or someone), McGonagall (who looked like she was about to have a coronary) and Dumbledore (who was beaming).
When Mrs. Weasley looked up from crying on a mantel piece, she literally jumped up and ran towards Ginny, closely followed by Mr. Weasley.
"Oh my poor baby." Mrs. Weasley kept on saying with sobs as she continued hugging Ginny very tightly.
Harry's definitely fine being knocked out, he thought to himself in jest when Mrs. Weasley hugged both Ron and him very tightly as well.
"How did you save her?" Mrs. Weasley asked the pair of them. They looked at each other and then to the Professors by the table.
"I think we'd all like to know that." Professor Snape said tersely before looking behind them, still as if looking for someone. "Where is Mr. Evandrus? I believe he had gone to follow you." Lars felt a pang of guilt at again. Harry followed them. Of course Harry followed them, even if he wasn't quite sure how. It was exactly why he didn't tell Harry everything that Aragog had told them, because he didn't want his older brother to be involved. But then again, if it weren't for Harry then Ginny would not be saved. He couldn't have done it alone. Guilt was really building up on him. Maybe it wouldn't have happened if only he'd listen to Harry about being practical, if he'd only listened to Harry about disposing of Shamira at a much earlier time.
"He's...uh...well he's..." he continued to stammer until Fawkes went gliding inside the office.
"He is fine Severus," Dumbledore said, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "Now, I believe Madame Pomfrey requires your assistance." Snape looked at them, and then to Dumbledore, and then nodded politely before leaving the room.
"Uhmm..." he didn't continue to speak. Instead, he walked over to Professor Dumbledore's desk and placed the sword and the sorting hat there.
"Uh...well I don't know where to begin." he started lamely, chuckling awkwardly.
"Start in the beginning, dear boy." Professor Dumbledore said, smiling benignly at him.
Lars took a deep breath and started telling everybody in the room what had happened. He started from the voice that he heard, how they figured out that Hagrid was framed by Tom Riddle, how Harry figured that it was a snake, how Hermione confirmed that it was a basilisk and found out that it was using the plumbing and how they went to the forbidden forest and found out that the location of the chamber was in Myrtle's bathroom.
"Very well," Professor McGonagall was still looking austerely at him, "you two –three, including Mr. Evandrus, realise that you have broken a hundred of school rules, but how on earth did you three got out of that alive, Potter?"
Lars started by telling them that Harry suddenly arrived at the scene, then continuously mocked Riddle like what he did to Voldemort the year before, then he went on to the part where Riddle released the basilisk but he managed to talk to it before Riddle sort of imperioed the snake, and then finally, to the part where Harry duelled with Riddle whilst he tried to knock some sense into the basilisk though he ended up killing her. He also mentioned that Harry most probably fainted due to a spell or a curse.
He sighed heavily and said "It wasn't Ginny's fault Mrs. Weasley. It was Riddle's." He took the diary from inside his robe and placed it on Professor Dumbledore's desk as well.
Mr. Weasley looked at Professor Dumbledore and asked who Riddle was.
"Brilliant." Professor Dumbledore said softly, holding the diary in his hands. "Riddle is probably the most brilliant student that Hogwarts has ever seen."
Lars snorted a bit loudly that everyone's attention turned to him. "I think my brother would disagree with you on that, Headmaster," he told the old wizard. "He actually told Riddle that he's better." Professor Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling in amusement at what he said. Lars thought he heard his head of house mutter something along the lines of "Slytherins and their arrogance."
"Yes quite, I do think that young Harry would disagree on that account," Dumbledore said with a fond chuckle. "Tom Riddle was Lord Voldemort's name," Everyone in the room, bar him and Professor Dumbledore, flinched at the name. Seriously, Lars thought in annoyance. It was just a bloody name that means flight from death.
"He disappeared after leaving the school . . . travelled far and wide . . . sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here. As a matter of fact, not many know that Lord Voldemort' real name is Tom Riddle."
"Theodore figured it out," he blurted out then looked down sheepishly. "Sorry...it's just that Harry said Theodore figured out that the name is from an anagram in his name."
"Quite correctly so," acknowledged Professor Dumbledore with a nod before having McGonagall show the anagram similar to the way Harry did so in the chamber.
"But Ginny-" said Mrs. Weasley. "What's our Ginny got to do with...with him."
"I'm sorry, but I've been writing to him mum." Ginny sobbed.
"Ginny!" said Mr. Weasley, flabbergasted. "Haven't I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain. Why didn't you show the diary to me, or your mother? A suspicious object like that, it was clearly full of Dark Magic —"
"I didn't know," Ginny replied, still with a sob. "I - I found it along with my books after dad brawled with Macnair." his eyes widened at that. The puzzle had reached its completion. The one who was in cahoots, in a manner of speaking and albeit unwittingly, with the heir was a Gryffindor, Ginny; Macnair Sr. was the one who started the whole mess with the diary he left in Ginny's belongings; And Mr. Malfoy owned Dobby, the one who gave him a warning, and possibly knew about it from Macnair Sr. "I thought th- that someone left it b-but w-when I asked, the p-people said-"
"Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing right away," Dumbledore interrupted in a firm voice. "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort. Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up," the old wizard added, eyes twinkling kindly down at her. "In a few moments, the basilisk victims will wake up."
"Hermione's okay!" Lars and Ron exclaimed happily.
"Correct, Mr. Weasley, she will be fine." Dumbledore said with a smile. "The restorative draught that Professor Snape and Mr. Evandrus brewed is working perfectly." Of course the potion is working properly, Lars thought proudly. Harry brewed it after all.
"Not to worry Ginny, there has been no lasting harm," said Dumbledore. Yeah apart from the trauma that it will give her, Lars thought sarcastically.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley then left the office with Ginny.
"You know, Minerva," Professor Dumbledore said thoughtfully to Professor McGonagall, "I think all this merits a good feast. Might I ask you to go and alert the kitchens?"
"Right," said Professor McGonagall crisply, also moving to the door. "I'll leave you to deal with Potter and Weasley, shall I?"
"Certainly," said Dumbledore.
Ron and he exchanged a look with each other before he blurted out "We're not going to get expelled are we, Sir? I mean if we're going to get expelled at least let Harry st-" He immediately stopped speaking when Professor Dumbledore raised a hand.
"I may have told you that I would have to expel you if you broke anymore school rules." He looked down in embarrassment. His uncles would kill him, hell his twin was going to murder him in every gruesome way possible should up only to find out that they had gotten expelled.
"Which goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat our words," He looked up from his feet to see Dumbledore smiling at him, "The three of you will receive Special Awards for Services to the School, and ah...two hundred points a-piece for Gryffindor and three hundred and fifty points to Slytherin."
Lars looked a bit oddly at Dumbledore for giving Harry quite an amount house points. "I'm really not complaining," he said to the old wizard, "but why is Harry's…well a bit too high."
"Why, two-hundred for saving the school and one hundred and fifty for inventing an alternative restorative draught, of course." Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling.
"Harry invented an alternative for the restorative draught?" he enquired, amazed. He knew that Harry brewed the potion but he didn't know that Harry invented it as well.
"Yes he did, my boy, quite an Order of Merlin actually. He invented a potion that needs not adult mandrake." Dumbledore was beaming.
"But one of us seems to be keeping mightily quiet about his part in this dangerous adventure," Dumbledore added. "Why so modest, Gilderoy?"
Lars blinked and turned around. He had already forgotten about that man.
"Uhm, sir, pardon me..." he began, chuckling awkwardly again. "See we had a tiny bit of a problem with him." With that, he began telling how he had always suspected Lockhart was a fraud and how Lockhart tried to erase their memories but, thanks to Ron's wand, the memory charm backfired on Lockhart.
"Oh dear," Dumbledore said whilst shaking his head. "Impaled by your own sword, Gilderoy?"
"Sword?" asked Lockhart stupidly. "I don't have a sword but that boy does." Lockhart pointed at him. "He'll lend you one."
"Would you mind taking Professor Lockhart to the infirmary, as well?" Dumbledore said to Ron. "I'd like to have a few more words with Lawrence..." Ron looked at Dumbledore curiously before nodding his head and escorting Lockhart out of the room.
"Sit down." Dumbledore said and he obliged, although he did feel a bit nervous.
"First of all," Dumbledore began, "I would like to thank you, Lawrence. You must have shown me real loyalty down in the chamber. Nothing but that could call Fawkes." he looked at Fawkes who nodded in what must be agreement at what the Headmaster said.
"I-" he swallowed. "It wasn't me Sir. I mean I am loyal to you, sir, to this school but it was Harry who started showing strong loyalty to you. He's the one who told Riddle that you will never ever be gone in this school so long as we are loyal to you."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled fondly this time. "I see," said the old wizard whilst stroking his beard. "I wasn't always in the impression that your brother is fond of me."
"I'll be more surprised if he doesn't like you, Professor." he stated honestly. "Whenever we call you just by your last name in his presence, he snaps at us and interjects either Headmaster or Professor." he paused to wonder. "Well, actually he does that to us when we don't use Professor for the other teachers, except Lockhart and Quirrell."
"Yes, your brother has been taught that it is only polite that he uses the title to those deserving of it."
"So you met Tom Riddle..." Dumbledore said, looking thoughtful after the silence.
"Yes sir, I did," he replied, remembering the things that Tom Riddle has said. "He...he compared himself to Harry. I mean, he said that he and Harry were just alike..."
"Did he now?" Dumbledore enquired. "And what do you think of it?"
"My brother is not like him!" he said, a bit too loudly than he intended. "I mean Sir, they're the same. They're both Slytherins, top of their year, geniuses even, not to mention both parselmouths and -" Lars halted and his eyes widened at what he had just revealed. He had only one thought in his mind after he had said that and it was 'Harry is going murder me really, really, gruesomely'.
"So, young Harry is a parselmouth as well."
"N-" he paused before looking down and slowly nodding his head. "Yes sir. He is also a parselmouth." He looked up once more to see Dumbledore's face. When he thought of it, it didn't seem like the old wizard was surprised at what he had unwittingly revealed. And then an avalanche of memories struck him; Harry saying that the Headmaster gave him lemon drops when the letter was delivered to him, Luke saying something about an old geezer, Professors Dumbledore and Snape looking and acting like they had known Ethan before, and Ethan saying that he can't tell who had played puppet master. Of course, it wasn't an accident that Midas became their guardian, someone helped Midas to have guardianship over Harry and Ethan.
"Sir..." he began silently. "Was it his choice not to go back to us years ago or was it yours?"
"I beg your pardon, dear boy?" Dumbledore said, blinking at him.
"I figured it out," he said with a humourless chuckle. "You knew where Harry was years ago. You knew all along."
Dumbledore sighed. "I will not lie, my boy, but yes. I am aware of where your brother was. Where he went and how he got there."
"I just need to know, Sir." he said, biting his lip. "Was it his choice or yours?"
"It was his." Dumbledore said point blank. And then he remembered when Harry told him that he didn't want to be known by anyone. "But I will tell you this, Lawrence, I did not find him..."
"Mr. McGregor did." he interjected.
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes." confirmed the old wizard. "Nearly a year after he ran away Mr. McGregor found him wandering about the streets in London and then delivered him to me." Dumbledore chuckled silently. "Your brother had put up quite a fight when I told him that he has to go back. He threatened that if I will, then he would just run away again. Suffice to say, it will be a never ending cycle." Lars grinned wryly. That truly sounded like his brother.
"And now," the old wizard continued, "I must ask you to keep this certain information to yourself." Lars just nodded in agreement. It wasn't his to say.
"Sir..." he began. "I know that it's wrong to be judgemental but...truthfully speaking, your opinion, do you think that Harry will be a dark wizard?" he lightly throws his hands up in exasperation. "I know I said that Harry's not like Riddle but….it's….it's unsettling, seeing Harry act sometimes. One moment he's nice and good, and then dark and scarily pragmatic the next. I have no idea what runs amuck in his mind. He says that he's insulted if I think that he'll join Voldemort but..."
"You were placed in Gryffindor, Lawrence, why?" Dumbledore interjected a question.
He looked confusedly at Dumbledore but answered nonetheless. "Because...I wanted to be part of that house."
"Last year, your brother was asked to join Voldemort, and yet he didn't," Dumbledore cited. "Harry did not show you hate for something you had no control over, namely being your father's favourite. He chose to save you during that Quiditch match. Your brother eventually made you aware that you are entitled as heirs of Slytherin even if he didn't have to..."
"It was my right to know that part," he blurted out.
"You got the word, Lawrence, 'right'." Dumbledore said. "It was right not to join Voldemort, it was right that he didn't hate you, it was right to save you, and it was right to make you aware."
"You and your brother are parselmouths. You and your brother are descendants of Slytherin." Dumbledore stated. "But does that make you evil? No it does not. It is our choices that define us Lawrence, far more than our abilities, far more than our lineage, far more than what is in our blood, and far more than who are related to us. At all the aforementioned events, your brother chose to do what's right."
"Sir, do you think he's gonna be alright?" he asked meekly. "I mean, he'll be well though, right? Even if he'd gotten magically exhausted."
"Exhausted, you say?" Dumbledore questioned.
"Yes Sir." he nodded. "He was in quite an impressive duel with Riddle before he fainted."
"I see." Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment before requesting something the same as the previous year, a memory of what had happened in the chamber.
"I want you to concentrate on that, Lawrence." Lars did as he was instructed.
"I think you best get some food and sleep, Lawrence." said the old wizard after receiving the memory from Lars. "It has been a rather tiring day, wouldn't you agree? I suggest you go down to the feast, whilst I write to Azkaban — we need our gamekeeper back. And I must draft an advertisement for the Daily Prophet, as well," he added thoughtfully. "We'll be needing a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. . . . Dear me, we do seem to run through them, don't we?" Lars smiled a little at that and nodded his head.
Lars nodded politely to the Headmaster and then turned around to leave. When he was to pull the door handle, the door suddenly opened with a forceful push and hit him right on the face.
"Oh bloody hell!" he exclaimed, holding his nose in pain.
"Mr. Potter." He looked up with a glare to see that it was Mr. Malfoy who had hit him with the door. Dobby was there by Mr. Malfoy's legs. If he hadn't known that Dobby was owned by the Malfoys, he would have exclaimed his surprise. Instead, he just acted like he didn't know the house-elf.
Mr. Malfoy's look of surprise was immediately replaced by a sneer but the man helped him up on his feet with a hand nonetheless. "My apologies, Mr. Potter." The man drew his wand and pointed it at his face. For a brief moment, he felt wariness until he realised that Mr. Malfoy wouldn't dare hurt him, not in front of Dumbledore at least.
"Ahh!" he reacted when a nonverbal episkey was casted on him.
"Do be careful next time, Potter." Mr. Malfoy said, only this time his tone of voice changed. It turned to a bit hostile one. "We wouldn't want you dying because of a door now, would we?"
"Of course not," he muttered. "Thanks for healing it I guess."
"I suggest you take that to the infirmary, Mr. Potter." he looked at Dumbledore who was in a bit of staring contest with Mr. Malfoy.
"Run along now boy," Mr. Malfoy said irritably to him.
After one last look at Dumbledore, and a subtle wink of acknowledgement at Dobby, he exited the room. Once he was out, he pressed his ear on the door but the only thing he heard was Mr. Malfoy saying, or rather yelling "The infirmary, Potter!" He only heard some buzzing sounds after that.
After a deep sigh, he made his way to the infirmary.
"Hey Lawrence!" Lars heard a voice hiss to him as soon as he got down the stairs from Dumbledore's office. "On your feet boy!" Lars jumped to his side and looked over to where he heard the voice. Slowly, a snake's form started to appear by the wall.
"Raph!" he exclaimed in surprise. "How'd you get here?"
"Long story," Raph replied and then afterwards both of them went to the infirmary whilst Raph told him how Harry came to be in the chamber and how he, Raph, was quite regretting hiding from the house-elf.
Lars jumped again when he heard a loud shout coming from the infirmary. He peeked through the door as Raph slithered down on the ground. He saw Snape and Sirius in a shouting match, with Remus as the referee.
"You're his head of house!" he heard Sirius yell angrily. "You are supposed to make sure that he's safe!"
"Black, I give instructions, I have no hand when a student decides to deliberately disobey it," Snape replied coolly. Lars didn't like it at all that the man sounded like he couldn't care less that Harry was there in the infirmary, and very much unconscious.
"And besides," he heard Snape once more, "I have done much more for him than you, his godfather, so I suggest that you shut your –Potter, stop eavesdropping!" Lars gulped and slowly entered the infirmary.
"Uh...hi?" he said uncomfortably. After a second, he found himself being crushed in a hug by Sirius.
"Lawrence, what the hell happened!?" Sirius exclaimed. "We came here on Dumbledore's call and saw Harry being carried by Fawkes. Unconscious to boot!"
"This is an infirmary, Black." Snape said with a sneer, "So do put a sock in it."
"Why don't you make me, Snivellus!" Snape's eyes flashed for a brief moment but the man remained cool and stoic.
"Back to petty insults, are we?" Snape drawled silkily. "What a shame, here I was under the impression that you have grown up."
"Sirius enough!" Remus raised his voice when Sirius was about to retort something. "Severus is right, this is an infirmary and there are still patients here."
"You're siding with that greasy git!?" Sirius said angrily.
"I'm siding with no one!" Remus snapped. Sirius deflated a little at that.
"Good, put your mutt on a leash, wolf boy." Snape said snidely before turning back to the other patients. In a split of a second, Sirius and Snape were brawling with each other.
"What is going on here!?" Madame Pomfrey's voice boomed inside the infirmary. Sirius and Snape immediately stopped brawling.
"Severus!" Madame Pomfrey exclaimed. "I leave for five minutes to escort the Weasleys and I return to find you brawling!" Snape looked mutinous.
"Then you should have shooed the mutt away from the infirmary." Snape replied tersely, "No filthy mutts allowed." Sirius was going to blow another punch at Snape when Remus intercepted the fist.
"That's it, out all of you, out of my infirmary now!" Madame Pomfrey began shoo-ing them out of the hospital wing. Lars was included, and he was only there watching and he was to get his nose checked!
"I'm the potions master." Snape reasoned, "You require my assistance."
"I'll ask for it when I need it now, OUT!" Lars just blinked. He had never seen Madame Pomfrey that angry before.
"This is your fault Snivellus!" Sirius yelled. Snape just raised an eyebrow before walking away.
"Sirius that is enough!" Remus said austerely. "Being angry won't help anybody. You should be ashamed for letting Lars see you lose your temper." Sirius was still glaring at the hallway where Snape disappeared to.
"So..." he began awkwardly, trying to at least loosen the tension. "Am I grounded?" He gulped when Sirius and Remus' gave him a double glare, clearly telling him that the response was affirmative.