Author's Note: This story is based off of events and conversations as found throughout the Harry Potter series as written by J.K. Rowling. Most of this work will contain original prose and dialogue, but references will be made in specific chapters where Rowling's exact words are used. This is written purely for recreational purposes; I do not own any rights to Harry Potter or affiliations of Bloomsbury Publishing.
Chapter Five: The Slytherins and the Gryffindors
The first day of school for Severus Snape had been nothing short of disastrous. On the bright side, he found out that Lily and he would be in two different classes together: Herbology and Potions. On the down side, his two quickly formed rivals would also be in the same classes—Sirius Black and James Potter.
Each day resulted in a different schedule, and on Thursday, September the second, Herbology came first. He shovelled his breakfast down his throat with difficulty, worms squirming around in the pit of his stomach, before he headed off with a group of other Slytherin first years to the greenhouses.
There were about forty of them huddled together outside, in which Professor Sprout had directed them. Severus found Lily quickly and fell into step beside her (a few Slytherins gave Severus dirty looks). She lit up at the sight of him. "Severus! How is your dormitory? Mine's fabulous—we're all in circular rooms with four poster beds and red drapes—I room with another Muggle-born girl, her name's Mary Macdonald—"
Lily was starting to sound like her out-of-control, energetic mother. Severus did not get a chance to put a word in before Professor Sprout stood before them and waved, getting their attention for quiet. She was a stout woman with frizzy black hair peppered with grey. Her tiny brown eyes were like buttons and her stubbed nose was round and small, making her look like an exaggerated baby doll. "Welcome to your first ever class. If my words whizzed over your head earlier, I will remind you that I am Professor Sprout, and you are in first year Herbology class. Sometimes I have little sprites who misread their timetables, so make sure to triple check them before we begin."
With that, a disgruntled boy at the back of the crowd moaned with worry and sprinted back towards the castle. Some of the Slytherins laughed as he went, as well as James and Sirius.
"Well now, never mind that," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "the rest of you have the syllabus, so I need not describe what we will be studying this year or safety expectations—you can read those for yourself as an assignment." There was a bit of groaning, but Lily was positively brimming, and she idly flipped through the pages of the syllabus as if she couldn't wait to read it all. "Our first lesson will not be in the greenhouses, but along the edge of the Forbidden Forest. You may recall that it is advised you do not to enter the forest, and for good reason. What we will be looking for is hopefully still growing just inside the limits. First things first, by a raise of hands—how many of you have cracked open the textbook?"
Only a few students raised their hands, Lily included.
"Well, better turn out than last year. And how many of you few know what Aconitum is?"
Everyone put their hands down.
"Not to worry, not to worry. Aconitum will be our first plant of study. We may be lucky if we find any today, but if we do, we will begin to learn the names of the three most common species, how to identify them, and learn what they are best used for. Now, first and foremost to note—this plant is extremely toxic! Do not touch or attempt to consume anything we may find in the Forest, or you'll be too far away for Madam Pomfrey to save. Right, off we go!"
The Professor led them out across the dewy lawn, and they followed like a herd of sheep. Although over fifty feet away, all the students turned to stare at the Whomping Willow, as if to make sure it stayed where it was and did not come to attack them. Far away, it looked like a normal tree, and Severus found it hard to believe it would attack people. Furthermore, he found it difficult to believe Professor Dumbledore would plant a tree that could deliberately hurt people. As a new Headmaster, he was certainly turning out to be extraordinary. And not in a good way.
When they reached the edge of the forest, Professor Sprout brought them to a halt. "We'll be searching the immediate area for some Aconitum. The plant will be small and leafy, with either a blue or yellow tinge to the ends of the leaves. It will look quite peculiar, as the leaves tend to form globes when it matures. Now, everyone form pairs—don't be shy, work with the person next to you—right, now when you find a plant, raise your hand and call for me. Do not leave sight of that hut!" She pointed purposefully at the small stone hut sitting behind her on the edge of the forest. "If you can't see the Gamekeeper's house, you've gone too far. Right, now, off with you!"
No one moved for a good five seconds before Professor Sprout waved her hands about and charged through the group like a dog herding sheep. Students quickly formed pairs with the nearest body and scuttled into the trees, of which the Headmaster had told them the night before not to cross. Lily seemed quite nervous about going in as well.
"I don't know, Severus—what if something's in there?"
"No one would hurt us at Hogwarts, right?" he reminded her. Still not utterly convinced, she nodded and followed closely behind him through the trees. This made him swell a bit, and a satisfied grin pulled at his lips.
After a few minutes, Lily relaxed ("This forest doesn't look so scary," she informed Severus stoutly) and helped Severus on the search for Aconitum. They mostly shuffled around, poking plants with their shoes and inspecting them. What seemed like a fruitless search became very exciting twenty minutes later. A boy on the other side of the site hollered excitedly for Professor Sprout, jumping up and down in the air with his hand raised.
After Professor Sprout inspected the boy's findings, she waved her hand through the air. "Everyone, to me!" When the students gathered around, she pulled a plant from the forest floor. "This," she said, showing it to everyone, "is monkshood. It is a type of Aconitum which is used in a powerful potion. I'll have you get out your parchments and write down notes on its appearance, where we found it, and other things you may have noticed about the plant. Then we'll continue looking!"
So the students drew their writing materials, bent over the small bush of plants, and began to take notes, whispering to each other once in a while for hints and tips. Severus's writing without support was a bit sloppy, and his hand was jittery because he was nervous. Once he wrote most of his notes, he went over them; he could not read what he wrote.
At one point he was aware of someone sniggering behind him, but he didn't register it until someone pulled back the neck of his robes and dumped something inside. His first reaction was to reach behind him and feel whose hand was there; then he stood and turned to see Sirius grinning like a goon and stepping away from him, James laughing in the background. The next thing he noticed was an intense burning down his back, white hot and blistering.
He hollered, dancing around and trying to shake out whatever was in there. Everyone had stopped what they were doing to see what the disturbance was, all the while Sirius and James sniggered like hyenas. The trail of fire down Severus's back became more intense and so unbearable that his knees buckled and he rolled around on the ground, trying to put out the burning, but it only made it worse.
How much time had passed was unknown to Severus; eventually someone had come up to him, cast some sort of incantation, and what was making him burn had suddenly gone. Next thing he knew Professor Sprout was bending over him but looking over her shoulder at the two boys who had attacked him. Their mirth had melted off their faces and fear had taken its place.
"Gentlemen," she said, her voice saturated with anger, "do you not understand the meaning of 'toxic'?"
There was a pause before James replied: "You just said don't try to eat—"
"CASTLE, NOW!" she boomed. Severus's back was still on fire, and he fought with every fibre of his will power not to let tears come to his eyes. He squirmed weakly against the pain. Everyone was shocked, their mouths hanging open and their quills dripping excess ink onto their parchments. Finally the boys skittered forward nervously as Professor Sprout helped Severus to his feet and started towards the grounds. "Everyone stay put until I return," she instructed, holding Severus around the shoulders. As they passed Lily, he shrugged his instructor's arm off stubbornly, though found it harder to walk once he was unsupported.
James and Sirius walked stiffly ten paces ahead of them. When they got to the castle, the two boys waited obediently for Professor Sprout to give them instructions. She led them down the corridor and towards one of the first doors they came across. The professor bid them to sit in the office, to not move another muscle (or expect certain expulsion) and await the arrival of Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House. Then she left them behind, leading Severus further along the first floor to the hospital wing.
She opened the door to a long room with beds lining the walls. Further down along the right-hand side was a boy sitting on one of the beds. He looked up at them expectantly, his sandy brown hair falling in his eyes. Severus took interest in the stranger, but Professor Sprout continued as if she hadn't seen him there. "Madam Pomfrey? Madam Pomfrey, I have a student here for you."
A woman wearing an immaculate white cap and apron came out of an office in the back corner of the infirmary. Her eyes were wide with disbelief as she marched towards Professor Sprout and Severus. "It's not even been an hour, Pomona."
"Monkshood dumped down the back of his robes. The culprits are being held in Minerva's office."
A look crossed Madam Pomfrey's face that even Severus could read as foreboding. He could tell Sirius and James would be in serious trouble. "All right, this won't take a moment, sir," Madam Pomfrey said, leading Severus to one of the beds. She drew the curtain, blocking the other boy and Professor Sprout from view. "Lift up your robes, please," she said, reaching into the front pocket of her apron.
This made him highly uncomfortable, but he did as he was bid. She then rubbed an ointment over his back, and immediately the dull burning that remained was replaced with a pleasant cooling sensation. "There you are, all set." He dropped his robes and she threw back the curtain. "I'll keep him here for the rest of the morning, just to make sure the burns clear."
Professor Sprout nodded, then turned to leave. "Professor, I'd advise you to make sure your students not play with fire from now on."
"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Professor Sprout said, but she didn't sound thankful at all. When she left the room, his caretaker bid him lay back.
"You just relax, now, dear," she said soothingly.
"I don't want to relax," Severus protested, his eyes flickering to the other boy. "I want to go to my classes." At this the soft smile on Madam Pomfrey's face fell, and hints of disapproval started to take its place.
"Now you listen here, young man," she said, pointing a stiff finger at him, "my job is to see my patients taken care of and mended quickly. Now I will not have you flying about this castle making more of a mess for yourself, otherwise you'll miss more classes and you'll have to come straight back here. The longer you stay put, the better for you and me."
Severus scowled, but did as he was told, albeit huffing about it and folding his arms across his chest defiantly. She left him there on the bed and swept away into her office again. There was a palpable silence, and suddenly Severus did not have the courage to look at the other boy across the room. He kept his eyes determinedly pointed at the floor beside his bed.
"First day not going well?" the boy finally asked after several minutes of quiet.
Severus shot his eyes at the boy with disdain, insulted by the suggestion, though true it was. He did not offer an answer.
"I was hoping to be in class, too, but... I guess I should be grateful I could come to Hogwarts at all." The boy drifted off, trying to cut off his own words at the end of his sentence, but Severus caught them and looked up expectantly.
"Why? Why would you be lucky to come?" he asked.
It was the boy who pointed his eyes deftly at the floor. "I get sick a lot. My parents weren't keen on letting me go to a boarding school, but the Headmaster convinced them I would be okay here."
"Oh." Severus looked around the room, wanting to pry but not knowing what it was he wanted to ask. Finally: "Is it contagious, or something?"
The boy gave a hollow, dour laugh. "Not really."
"Not really? That doesn't make sense. Either it is or it isn't."
The boy shrugged. "Whenever it gets bad, I just avoid other people."
"But you're obviously sick now," Severus said, "you're in the hospital wing. What if I catch whatever you have?"
The boy smiled sadly. "I promise you won't get sick."
Before Severus could ask any more questions, Madam Pomfrey emerged from her office again, huffing a sigh and looking upon the boy. "All right, all set, off you go," she said to the boy. "First classes should be over soon; head straight to your second period class."
Severus frowned—the boy had just finished telling him that he was sick and missing his first class, and without so much as a check-up, the nurse let him go out to his class to infect other students. The boy got up from his bed, gave Severus a small smile and a nod, and left the hospital wing. Severus watched him go with a mixture of longing and jealousy.
"Do I have to stay?" Severus asked.
Madam Pomfrey gave him a pointed look and went back into her office without another word.
The rest of the morning passed him by ever so slowly, and soon he had missed the end of his Herbology lesson and his first Transfiguration class. At least in the afternoon he would get to go to Charms, but Lily would not be in his class this time.
When lunch came, Madam Pomfrey stood by his bed and asked to check his back. Once she had her inspection, she nodded her head toward the door. "You may go."
Despite his new freedom, Severus was gloomy, and acted a bit more of a crabby child than he meant to as he stomped out of the infirmary to the Great Hall. When he sat down at the lunch table, the fact he did not spot a glimpse of either James or Sirius brightened him—perhaps they were being expelled at this very moment...
Severus purposefully isolated himself a bit as he sat down at an empty part of the Slytherin table and started to dish himself a hefty helping of miniature Yorkshire puddings and mutton. Suddenly someone was at his side, and he was intent on ignoring this person until he realized who it was.
"Are you all right?" Lily asked, looking down at him with wild, concerned eyes. "What did they do to you? Are you hurt bad?"
Severus felt a tinge of annoyance; of course he was okay: it would take more than those two gits to hurt him. He shrugged petulantly and snapped: "No."
Lily took a step back from his unexpected ferocity, but decided to stick by her friend, no matter how grumpy he seemed to be. "Are they in big trouble? They weren't in my Charms class after Herbology."
"I think so," said Severus, looking up at her. He then noticed that several Slytherins down the table were sneering in his and Lily's direction. "I mean, I hope so."
"Can I sit?" she asked, patting the bench next to him. Immediately two boys further down leapt up, eyeing her with contempt. Severus glanced between them and her.
"You'd better not," he said warningly.
She blinked.
"I just mean—those—"
"You promised not to leave me here," she said quietly, obviously stung.
"I'm not! I won't! Listen—"
But she would have none of his imploring. Lily walked past Severus, rounded the table, and headed for her own on the other side of the Hall. Severus watched her go with a growing vexation eating away at the pit of his stomach. Today was not going well for him; Hogwarts was turning out not to be any better for him than home was, despite the fact that Lily was there as well. One of the boys who had looked affronted at Lily's presence approached Severus. He looked like he was in his sixth or seventh year.
"Is that girl a friend of yours?" the boy asked.
Severus decided it was best not to tell the truth in this situation, but he could not bring himself to deny her, so he remained quiet, practically shrinking in the teen's shadow.
"Listen—house tables are house tables, we don't mix and mingle," he warned, his expression suggesting Severus should take that knowledge with the utmost seriousness. "Tell her next time she'd better not cross this side of the Hall. Got it?"
Severus could only muster a tiny nod. The boy stalked off, and Severus stared into his plate, unable to recall his appetite. He pursed his lips and exhaled through his nose like a raging bull. He suddenly wanted to make someone else have a worse day than he was having.
Charms was rather uneventful and boring—Severus didn't get to hold his new wand in that class, either. Instead, they went over the syllabus and discussed the theory and basis of charmwork. Then class was dismissed, and shortly after that was dinner in the Great Hall.
In the end, James and Sirius did not get into big trouble. They were both present at the Gryffindor table, and were close enough to the double doors that they noticed Severus entering and made obvious remarks about him. Before Severus headed off for the Slytherin table, he caught a glimpse of Lily talking to a boy—the same sick boy who had sat with him in the hospital wing that afternoon.
He stopped and stared, mouth falling open. He had to warn her! What if she got sick, too? "Not really" meant there was a chance she could get sick, too. But underneath that worry, he felt a pang of jealousy, so minute that he only barely registered it: he was jealous that this boy got to talk to Lily while he had to shuffle away to the other side of the Hall. House tables are house tables, we don't mix and mingle. Severus threw this idea out the window and marched over to where the two sat.
By the time he stood behind Lily, half the Gryffindor table was eyeing Severus dangerously, throwing daggers and flames and the like in his direction. Lily was one of the last to realize he was standing behind her, fists balled, lips drawn across his face. "Severus," she said, feigned joy in her voice. He could see from the look in her eyes that she was not prepared to talk to him yet, not after the lunch fiasco. But Severus would not leave until she was warned about who she was mingling with.
"He's sick, Lily," Severus said in a low voice.
Immediately the strange boy's face fell. Lily's eyebrows knitted together, a look that told Severus he was treading a fine line between concern and anger. "What?" she said.
"He was in the infirmary with me this morning," he replied, desperately trying to remain steadfast as his confidence slowly slipped through his fingers. "He told me he gets sick and that it's kind of contagious."
Lily's brows tightened together, and a disapproving look crossed her features. The boy ducked his head. A few Gryffindors sitting nearby started to mutter under their breath as Lily rose from the table.
"What is wrong with you?" she said, her voice sharp. "Today you've been nothing but... mean! For your information, this is Remus, and he's not contagious!"
Any semblance of courage Serverus had had evaporated as Lily crossed her arms over her chest and glowered. A few people at the Gryffindor table stood and mimicked the young girl—James and Sirius included.
"Just leave me alone, Severus, I don't want to talk to you right now." She promptly turned and sat down, turning her back on him the way she had to Sirius.
"You'd better go, Snivellus," Sirius said, "before we have to make you."
At this point, Severus wished he had at least learned to do something threatening with his wand that day. But before he could come up with a comeback, Lily shot her eyes over to her fellow Gryffindor. "You leave him alone!" she shouted, drawing the attention of half the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables.
Sirius laughed. "Got your girlfriend to defend you, huh?"
"Stop it!" she bit back.
Deciding he would only receive more humiliation if he stayed, Severus stormed off as quickly as he could, his fists clenched, his teeth bared. When would he learn to keep his big mouth shut? And her defending him like that... it looked worse when a girl stood up for a boy. He felt anger bubbling in his chest over what she did...
... but that night as he lay down to sleep, remorse and frustration took its place. She was only trying to look out for him like he'd been trying to look out for her. And he should have known by now that whenever he opened his mouth, something else besides what he'd intended to say came out. He lost count of how many times he had offended Lily just by speaking. Now all he had to show for trying to stick up for her was shame. He hoped that in Potions the next day he wouldn't have to talk to her.
After breakfast the next morning, Severus walked back down into the dungeons and entered the Potions classroom. His first thought was that he immediately liked the place; the second was that, by the look of the set up and the ingredients lying about, he would be able to pick up this subject easily.
The instructor for the class was none other than Professor Slughorn, the man who had come to Lily's house to tell her about Hogwarts. Severus spotted her dark red hair—she was sitting right up front at one of the stone slabs, smiling uncontrollably at the professor. Severus moved to the opposite end of the room and sat himself down at an empty table.
Once the class had arrived and settled, the professor began the lesson by reading off the roster and starting to learn everyone's names. He had each individual say something about their interests or talents and offered warm smiles to everyone when they divulged. When he crossed Lily's name, they had a short conversation, in which following the professor explained he had met Lily over the summer. When the professor called upon Lupin, Remus, there was no reply; the sick boy was not in class today.
After everyone had been quickly introduced, the professor launched into his first lesson. "My name is Professor Horace Slughorn, and I am the Potions Master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where you will learn that the science of solutions and concoctions is not one to be taken lightly; the faintest gram light or heavy could mean the difference between life and death. Or, as I just witnessed yesterday, the difference between blemish control and brightly coloured body parts."
Some students laughed, sounding just a bit nervous. "Not to fear, however! You shall learn how to manipulate ingredients into producing the results you wish to see in your potions." He turned to the chalkboard, flicked his wand, and the chalk began scribbling notes on the surface. All of the students were enraptured; one boy at the front of the room was on the edge of his seat and practically draped over his own stone slab to watch the chalk scribble furiously.
"The Five Laws of Potion Making," the boy read aloud.
"Quite right, sir!" Professor Slughorn said jubilantly. "We will first explore the rules of potion making, not unlike the Five Exceptions to magic some of you may have learned in Transfiguration already." Severus let his shoulders slump and a silent sigh pass his lips. He would just pretend he had learned the five laws. "There are some things potions simply cannot do, and I believe this is a good place to start your education about the world of manipulating ingredients. But I simply won't tell you what they are—you shall find out for yourself. Open your textbooks to Chapter Three and buddy up with a partner. Your notes will be due by the next class."
There was a tumult of groans and shuffling papers as students moved around the room to get into pairs and begin their work. Severus glanced around the room briefly, then pulled out his own parchment. He would never approach someone else—that was something he learned in Muggle school: You can't be rejected if you don't set yourself up for failure in the first place. He would be quite content on his own, anyway, and he was sure he could take a few notes without someone else's help.
"Hi, Severus."
He looked up to see her standing next to him, her eyes downcast and her cheeks a little flushed. "Can we work together?"
He shrugged and went back to shuffling through his things before opening his book to Chapter Three. Lily sat down beside him and set up her own things. After a few minutes, in which Severus had already tried setting down to work (but could not take his attention off of the fact that Lily was sitting next to him) the girl finally broke down and blurted: "I'm sorry about yesterday."
Severus glanced at her briefly before going back to his parchment. "S'okay," he muttered.
"I know you were just looking out for me... but that was a mean thing you did. And... I kind of understand the whole Great Hall thing. About not sitting at your table. I'm sorry I did that to you."
He had never apologized to anyone before, but he screwed up his lips, sucked in his breath, and quickly said: "I'm sorry, too." It didn't seem so hard once the words were out.
"Friends again?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yeah."
They continued their work in quiet, only occasionally pointing out excerpts to each other and referencing each other's work. All of Severus's worries that had been building up ever since he arrived at Hogwarts were dispelled over the course of the hour.