Chapter 2

As Snape found his way into the Hogshead he was sure he had set off a caterwauling charm as the loud boom of cheers that greeted him temporarily deafened him.

When he opened his eyes from the initial shock he saw Sirius black was sporting a pair of antlers and coming towards him with a glass of fire whiskey.

"Here he is! The condemned man!"

Snape felt confused.

He did not feel like a condemned man but Sirius had his arm around Snape's neck and was grinning as he turned to the throng of other men.

"Severus Snape's last night of freedom!" he cheered.

The assembled revellers, all wearing similar headgear cheered back, sloshing drinks as they toasted each other.

Snape knew that tonight was going to be very much outside of his comfort zone.


"…so next thing you know, Mundungus Fletcher looks me straight in the eye and said 'C'mon Nymphadora, me and your dad go back a long way. Why won't you just let this one slide eh?' And I look at him and these Cauldrons and I say: '…Don't call me Nymphadora!' And take him in."

Lily laughed, her hand on her bump as Molly tutted and shook her head.

"During his time here, he thought he could pull the wool over everyones eyes." Minerva nodded, cradling her little glass of sherry between her bony fingers.

"I always liked 'Dung." Lily added. "He was always good to lean on when stuff got a bit unclear."

"He had a soft spot for you!" Tonks grinned. "When I arrested him he was asking for you."

"Awh." Lily grinned. "Didn't know I had a fan club!"

"I keep telling Arthur not to mix with him but he does! He's got him bringing him 'Muggle Artefacts' now!" Molly began. "And now Fred and George are writing to him all the time. I have to keep frisking the owls for letters!"

"I'm lucky. Sev keeps to himself. The only thing I have to watch out for is his habit of terrorizing the school kids."

"Oh wow. I remember when I was a student here. He was really young back then , mid twenties or something, and my mate Xanthe had this really bad habit of pretending to flirt with him-she was a Gryffindor? Well, she kept fluttering her eyelashes and sighing in his direction and towards the end of our final year, he lost his temper and slammed his hand on our desk and said: "If you continue to make these faces Miss. Hooper, perhaps I should have to make and test an antidote to whatever poison is in your system to make you behave in this ridiculous manner! Shall we say Saturday?"

Lily laughed again and took a sip of her grape cordial.

"What's he really like?" asked Tonks, leaning over to where Lily was sat, her legs propped up on pillows.

"Who?"

"Snape. I mean, he can't be all that 'mean and moody' with you. Nobody would put up with it!"

"He's nice. He's caring…Really caring. I mean, these last few months, they've been stressful, but I've been really well cared for. He's kind."

"He's always been quiet." Molly began. "Always a quiet man. Always in black, always quiet."

"He's just not that social." Lily replied. "But, what he does say speaks volumes, if you know what I mean?"

Lily sipped at her grape cordial and turned to the three women who made up her hen party.

"I mean. It's what he does say…when he says it. You know its coming from his heart. It's almost like his voice becomes the most important thing, the only thing amongst all other sounds. When he holds me, his hands hold me firmly, as if I'm the first thing, and the last thing he will every hold, and he looks into my eyes as if I'm the most perfect thing he's ever seen. Sometimes, when he looks at me, I can't believe how much he cares for me, the things he does, has done, will do for me. It's beyond anything I've ever known. And his voice…"

Lily closed her eyes.

"His voice makes me shake inside. He only has to say my name, and I know that he would do anything for me."

Tonks smiled.

"…I didn't know he had it in him."

Molly chuckled as Minerva smiled.


Snape sat quietly in the corner of the bar as his stag party surrounded him. He knew some of the people here, others seemed to have tagged along because they knew other guests. He looked around, taking a slow, almost cautious sip of his drink which seemed stronger than he recalled and tried to figure out who Sirius had invited.

James Potter was here, he had already stood up on the stool, fuelled by mead and serenaded the group noisily with a song about a Hag called 'Agatha' and her magic 'hat' which he was certain was a euphemism for some other part of her anatomy.

Sirius Black was here, he was stocking up the drinks for everyone at the table. Remus Lupin who was sat almost as quietly as he was and was nursing a Butterbeer while grinning up at James Potter with almost devotion. Charlie Weasley was here , he had taught him and he had grown up to be quite tall and almost imposing, although not so much so when he was having a high pitched giggling fit after drinking a special brew from the bar that the half-giant Hagrid had suggested.

A man with an eye patch everyone kept calling Davey who he remembered as having an altercation with the whomping willow in his youth, Dirk Cresswell who was betting loudly that he could eat Goat dung and not throw up and would do for the right price. He also saw another man that was called Aubrey, but he couldn't recall his face from school.

The rest of the guests were either lost in Snape's memory of past students or people he didn't care for at school.

"Drink up Snape!" smiled Sirius, putting another glass down in front of him.

Snape shook his head firmly.

"Really, Black. I am content with this gla-"

"Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!" chorused the guests, slamming their glasses and tankards on the dirty wooden tables, slopping ale over its sticky surfaces.

"I must keep a clear head. Lily is due to go into labour in the next three weeks and I have heard that first time pregnancies can be-"

"Drink it!" Potter insisted, pointing at him imperiously from his stool plinth, his antlers askew. "Or you will have to do a forfeit!"

Snape raised an eyebrow.

"Potter, I do not plan on getting drunk for my wedding. I am content to sip at this. You may drink until you swell up to the size of an overgrown puffskein. But I will not be brow-beaten into playing silly drinking games to please you lot…"

"Don't be a wuss. Drink it." Sirius goaded with a grin. "Unless you can't hold it. Unless you aren't a man…"

"You really think that will work on me?" he said with a raised eyebrow.

"No." Sirius admitted. "But if you don't drink this one, you have to drink that stuff Charlie is drinking. Just pretend it's medicine or something…"

Snape looked at the small glass of amber fluid and took it, staring it down, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before swallowing it down in one go.


"He's had way too much, Prongs…"

Sirius Black shook his head and helped correct Snape's stance as he had collapsed sideways against the wall of the pub, his face droopy and his eyes closed as he made incoherent murmurs.

"He's only had two!" Potter declared. "How can you get drunk after two?!"

"He doesn't drink does he?" Sirius sighed. "He never drunk…"

The stag party had dissolved shortly after Dirk Creswell had been sick all over the bar and Aberforth had got cross and told them to call it a night before getting some magical cleaner and a sweeping brush.

Snape had drunk the one fire whiskey in an act of bravado before taking a second, larger fire whiskey to back it up before smiling in a cheerful manner and collapsing.

Lupin sat him up properly and patted his cheek, trying to wake him up.

"Severus, come on. Wake up!"

Snape muttered incoherently and opened his eyes sluggishly.

"…Are you alright?" Lupin asked, trying to get him to focus by staring him in the eye.

"Yes…" Snape lied.

"…Are you going to throw up?" asked Lupin slowly, as though addressing a child. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aberforth look at them sharply, a sick covered sweeping brush in his hand.

"No." Snape continued, a strange red blush in his sallow cheeks. "Are you?" Snape inquired politely.

"I think you'd better get to your bed. Bloody hell, it's only ten past nine." Sirius sighed. "This is the worst Stag night ever. The Groom can't hold his drink and the best man didn't even get to get a look in. I'm glad we cancelled the mermaid entertainer."

"He needs sleep. One of us is going to have to get him upstairs, in his room and undressed." Lupin sighed.

"Oh, count me the hell out. I am not going to be the one who has to see Snivellus' without any clothes on." Potter responded with a wrinkle in his nose.

"Oh grow up, Prongs. He nursed me when I was sick." Lupin replied, tiredly.

"Fair enough Moony. You do it." nodded Potter.

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

"It's not right. I mean…I am Lily's ex, and if I were to undress both bride and groom, that would just be wrong."

"Oh that's doxy-shit and you know it." Potter retorted.

"For bludgering hell's sake." Sirius began and pulled on Snape's arm so he would stand before supporting him in a firemans lift. "I'm the best man and I'll deal with it. Wussies. Get some sleep. See you tomorrow."

With that Sirius half carried Snape towards the wooden staircase that led to the upstairs rooms.

"Oi! What about my bar?!" yelled a disgruntled Aberforth.

"Moony, help him clear up." Sirius ordered. "Prongs, get your wand out and help him."

He left the two mutinous looking marauders behind as a semi-conscious Snape leaned on him, his head on Sirius' shoulder.

"Snape…you awake?" he asked, heaving the drunken potions master up the stairs.

"I think so…but I also think I'm floating…" Snape slurred.

"You're not…" Sirius gave an almighty tug on the man's arm. "You're being a tonne weight. Have you ever drunk before, Snape?"

"I don't drink. It smells like my father…"

"Your dad must drink like a drain. You didn't inherit any of it though. Lightweight."

Sirius finally got Snape to the top of the stairs.

"You had better not have a hangover in the morning…Lily will have my head on a stick."

"I have…" he patted his chest a few times before starting to slide down the wall Sirius had leaned him against while retrieving his wand.

Sirius picked him back up again and held him in place with an elbow in the chest as he tapped the lock to the room.

"You have what?"

"I have…antidote." he mumbled. "Alcohol…"

Sirius made a impressed nod and grabbed Snape by his shoulders and pushed him into the shoddy room of the Hogshead and launched him head first towards the bed.

Snape collapsed into it and thankfully did not notice the explosion of dust that blasted from under him from the old, careworn bed.

Sirius sighed and considered leaving him to sleep in his clothing but decided that if he woke up with cramp from the constricted clothing tomorrow, he'd probably get a stern ticking off from Lily.

Sirius sighed and pointed his wand at the window.

The two shutters slammed shut as Sirius pointed to the candles with his wand, igniting them.

"Snape, wake up. We need to get your coat off."

"I'm going…I'm going back out in a minute. Need to get home to Lily…and the baby."

"If you go home to Lily tonight, she'll have bloody kittens. The state you're in."

Sirius pointed his wand at the buttons on Snape's jacket, watching them pop open and started tugging at Snape's sleeve.

"This is not worth being best man for…" Sirius grunted as he pulled at the sleeve of his jacket.

Sirius finally managed to get the jacket off Snape and found the antidote in the pocket of the coat.

Sirius half laughed and examined it.

"Bloody swot."

He put the bottle on the bedside table beside Snape's bed. He was fast asleep snoring lightly.

"…You know…I sometimes wonder if you'd be any less of a nerd if we'd have been more…well, less of arses to you." muttered Sirius and walked out of the room, locking it behind him.