AN: I'm a procrastinator, aren't I?

Chapter 3

Sharing Punishment

Severus and Minnie appeared in a blur of light in the corridor before the Charms classroom. A group of first year Hufflepuffs scattered at their rather flashy arrival. Severus, shell-shocked by the sudden disapparation, was working his mouth in a pantomime of a fish.

"Whoa..." was all Severus could manage. Then, seeming to remember himself, he shook his head and brushed at some imaginary dust on his robes. Shifting the bag on his shoulder, he turned to the little house elf who was twisting her comically large fingers and staring at him.

"Um, thank - "

Minnie yelped and popped away. Severus looked taken aback. He chose to attribute the strange behaviour as nothing more than the normal behaviour of a strange creature. But does it have to look so filthy? He briefly pondered why anyone would choose to keep such unsightly and possibly unpredictable things in their home. Magical servant or not, the creatures were downright unsettling. Severus shuddered as he thought about the hundred of house elves that had to be behind the scenes, keeping Hogwarts running.

Severus raised a hand and rapped a knuckle on the door. At the sound of a muffled "Enter", Severus pushed open the heavy door and warily stepped into the room. There were four columns of desks separated into eight rows. At the front of the room, Severus spotted a small Gryffindor boy who had turned at the noise of the door opening. Severus smirked as the boy's face turned ashen at the sight of him. Not brave enough to sit with a Slytherin in detention, eh?

"Right on time, Snape."

Severus glanced at the prefect sitting at the teacher's desk off to the side at the front of the class. It was Amelia Chaucer, seventh year Ravenclaw and ardent member of the Wise Whiz Wizards Quiz-bowl club.

"Filch wanted me to set you to some scrubbing," she said, twirling a lock of her brown hair around a finger, "but apart from that mouth of yours, there's nothing to scrub. But... that sort of thing should be left to your mother." Amelia gave a tiny smile at the sour expression on Severus' face. He stood near the door, and showed no signs of going into the room any further.

"Relax and come in. I'm not going to throw eggs at you."

Severus' temper was straining at its reigns. The girl might not mean anything, but the urge to send a stinging hex straight into her smarmy face was strong. It was not her place to tease a person she barely knew with double-edged words. Severus went left and dropped his bag onto the desk closest to the wall. He slid into the seat, placing his hands on the desk. Raising an eyebrow, he looked expectantly at the prefect.

"Do whatever you want, but just sit there. No trouble."

That was exactly what Severus needed - to sit and contemplate all the bad he did. He reached into his bag and pulled out some parchment and his writing instruments.

He sighed.

Severus idly coloured the edge of his parchment. He listened to the hypnotic sounds the quill made as he scratched with it. He did not know how much time had passed, but it felt like ages. Severus was reluctant to cast a Tempus in case he got into more trouble. The prefect had not taken his wand, but maybe she still expected him not to use it. A loophole, sure, yet it was one Severus was not going to get away with if he exploited it.

He was bored. He glanced at the prefect. Amelia was completely immersed in what she was reading. From the scantily clad couple on the cover, Severus could tell the literature was far from an intellectual piece. He contemplated the repercussions of throwing balls of parchment at the other boy in the room.

Severus had resigned himself to his doodles when suddenly the door to the classroom burst open. Amelia scrambled to hide her choice reading material as a red-faced McGonagall dragged a muddy Sirius Black towards the front of the room. Remus Lupin, also a prefect and currently looking quite sheepish, followed them.

"Chaucer!" the curt tone of the Transfiguration professor made the seventh year jump in her chair. "I need you to watch these two."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll - "

"MUD BOMBS!" McGonagall's voice was nearly a shriek. Everyone in the room flinched a bit. The young Gryffindor, who Severus had forgotten was even in room, looked about to faint.

McGonagall pinched the bridge of her nose with two fingers. She let out a breath and turned to address the prefect whose services she was currently in need of.

"Miss Chaucer, I'll be back as soon as I can. I have to go help fix the mess this thoughtless boy caused." She sent a glare to Sirius Black. "I'll send someone down to take over if I'm running a late."

The prefect nodded. She gestured for the subjects of Professor McGonagall's ire to take seats. With cautious movements, the boys did so.

McGonagall straightened and made ready to depart. "Boys, you can be sure the Headmaster will hear of this when he gets back." Black and Lupin hung their heads. "Remus, I'm very disappointed in you."

As soon as the door shut behind her, Sirius Black let out a loud breath and relaxed triumphantly into the chair. Lupin refused to raise his head and Sirius tried kicking his foot in order to rouse him from his friend from dire thoughts.

"Leave off, Padfoot," was all the response Lupin would give.

Severus was fuming. His heart thumped loudly in his chest. Two of the Marauders were in the same room as he. They had not noticed him yet, being wrapped up in their own situation, but Severus was sure he would not get back to his dormitory unscathed.

"You two just be quiet and sit there until the professor comes back for you," was the instruction from Amelia who had picked up her book and was searching for her place.

"What'd you do?" asked the other Gryffindor in the room, sounding awestruck.

Sirius Black stopped kicking Remus and grinned brightly. Severus rolled his eyes.

"Well, we - James, me and Remus here, made these mud bombs, you see," Sirius Black sat up and leaned forward a bit. "We set 'em up near Filch's office - for test purposes, you see. We thought they'd blow up and then make a little mess - for Filch, like a gift. But..." Sirius smiled.

The impressionable Gryffindor leaned forward, eyes sparkling, waiting to hear the conclusion to his hero's tale. Even the Ravenclaw at the teacher's table stared at Sirius over the top of her risque novel.

"It flooded the dungeons."

Remus groaned. He dropped his head onto the desk.

"The whole dungeons?"

"No, not that lucky." Sirius barked a laugh. "Too bad McGonagall got there before we all could clear out. Caught me and Remy here, didn't she?"

"I told you not to do it."

"Yeah. Well."

A silence settled over the room. Severus was hoping McGonagall would come back quickly and extract her two miscreants before they noticed his presence. However a flood in the dungeons was not easy to fix.

They can't hurt me in detention.

Severus sighed and continued doodling. It was always just one thing after another. Could nothing go right for him? Even once in a while would be acceptable.

"Snape's behind you."

Of course not.

Severus glared at the younger Gryffindor who had pointed him out. The boy was apparently feeling much braver now that the icons of his house were with him.

Severus broke the glare and turned to the Marauders. Under the desk, he had his wand at ready. Sirius had turned in his chair to look at him and Remus was sitting up, staring between the two.

"Alright there, Snivellus?"