Sorry this took so long to get out. Unfortunately I contracted spinal meningitis and was in the hospital for three weeks. Then my beta (who said she would take all the blame for the delay) went AWOL for a while due to life and work. I really enjoyed writing about Severus, Lily and the Marauders. I was apprehensive at first but now I am really glad that I did. You may also notice that there is a Jewish reference in here. My beta's story has Severus as being a secular Jew and I decided to let him keep that wonderful heritage...being Jewish myself I couldn't resist. Besides, Michael Goldstein and Rose Zeller are the only other Jewish characters in the books so I thought we needed another LOL. Anyway, I thought that this would be the last chapter but my beta convinced me to break it into two since it was so long. So the next chapter will be the last. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed. I love hearing from you all!
Chelsea
"Please have a seat," Dumbledore said gravely.
Each boy obeyed. Remus's eyes blurred with tears as he stared at Severus's blood that stained the front of Dumbledore's robes. He had not meant for things to get out of control. True he and Severus were not friends but he did not hate him the way Sirius and James seemed to. In fact, he rarely ever spoke to the other boy.
"This is a very serious situation," Dumbledore said plainly.
James looked up at the headmaster. Dumbledore didn't seem too angry and he had not shouted at them. He had obviously calmed down a great deal in the fast few minutes. But there was definitely disappointment and concern in his voice. There was no questioning his displeasure with the situation.
"I would like to know how Severus sustained those injuries," Dumbledore continued, "Would any of you care to enlighten me?"
"We were just waiting to talk to him," Sirius said, trying to sound and look innocent.
The other boys nodded in wholehearted agreement.
"You needed to speak to Severus so you waited in a dark corridor almost near curfew?" Dumbledore asked doubtfully.
The boys nodded again, though with less enthusiasm.
"Why did you not wait until breakfast? What was so important that you had to speak with him at this late hour?" Dumbledore asked patiently.
"It was about potions class yesterday," James answered him, "We needed to discuss what happened."
"What happened in class?" Dumbledore asked.
"Snape levitated nettles into our cauldron then made it fall on us. We were in the infirmary for hours with painful boils!" James answered with a frown. He hated to recall the painful, oozing bumps that had covered most of his body.
"I did not see him do it," Slughorn interrupted, "I even asked Remus what happened back there and he said he didn't know."
"I didn't know he did it at the time," Remus replied truthfully, "But later that evening we overheard Lily Evans telling someone that she saw him do it. Besides, he called Peter a poof in class. He and Avery laughed at James, Sirius and Peter when the cauldron fell on them."
"I did hear him call Pettigrew that name and he did indeed laugh about the incident with Avery. However, I took care of the situation and Severus served detention with me earlier this evening for his cheek," Slughorn said.
"Be that as it may," Dumbledore told the Marauders, "It is Professor Slughorn's place to discipline Severus, not yours. You should have went to him when you discovered how the nettles got into James's cauldron instead of taking matters into your own hands."
"But, sir..." Sirius began.
"I have been concerned for a while now with this situation," Dumbledore interrupted him, "I have not forgotten the incident with Remus last year. There has long been animosity between you four and Severus and now you can see what can happen when bullying gets out of control."
"Bullying?" Sirius cried incredulously, "He reached for his wand first!"
"What would have you done differently, Sirius?" Dumbledore asked, "What would you have done if you were confronted in a dark, deserted corridor by four boys with whom you have a turbulent history?"
Sirius shrugged. He knew he would have reached for his wand too.
"We are very sorry, sir," James piped up, "We didn't mean for Snape to take that many disarming spells to the chest. I didn't realize that Sirius, Peter and Remus would try to disarm him too. It all happened in the heat of the moment."
"Though it is obvious that you were waiting to ambush Severus, I will not expel or suspend you," Dumbledore decided.
The four boys looked at each other with wide eyes. They had expected at least a suspension in the very least.
"You aren't, sir?" Peter asked in astonishment.
"No, I am not," Dumbledore repeated, "I think there is a valuable lesson to be learned here. Instead of suspension you boys are going to make restitution for your actions."
"Restitution?" Sirius said with a frown.
"Yes, Mr. Black, restitution," Dumbledore explained, "First you are going to clean the blood from the Great Hall and you will gather up Severus's belongings. Then tomorrow you will write him a letter of apology."
James nodded. That didn't sound so bad, really.
"Then you will get all of Severus's assignments and help him complete anything he misses from class," Dumbledore continued, "You all will also serve a full month of detention with me. I am going to put an end to this row once and for all."
The four boys looked down at their laps in shame. It was hard to believe what had just happened. It had all happened so quickly and things had gotten out of control before they realized it.
"Now if you would all proceed down to the Great Hall, I believe Mr. Filch has set out what you will need to clean up the mess that you caused," Dumbledore said.
The four boys nodded and scurried out of the headmaster's office before any more punishment could be handed out. Once they made their way to the Great Hall they stopped and looked at the puddle of blood on the floor by the steps. All four stared at it for several long moments in silence.
"Remus?"
They all jumped at the sound of Lily's voice. Hesitantly, they turned to look at her.
"Where have you been?" Lily asked him, "I have been looking for you everywhere! We have prefect duties tonight! Did you forg...what is that on the floor?"
"Well...it.uh...appears to be blood," Remus answered her.
Lily looked at him skeptically before eying the mop and bucket next to them. Then her eyes darted over to the school bag and it's contents that littered the floor.
"Is that...is that Severus's bag?" she asked with a slight frown, "What's going on?"
"It was an accident, Evans," James told her, "Snivellus just fell off the landing...his own fault, really."
"He fell off the landing!" Lily shrieked, her cheeks flushed in anger, "You were picking on him again, weren't you?"
"We just wanted to pay him back for what he did to us in potions!" James shouted back at her, "We hard you telling Mary about it!"
Lily's face turned even redder.
"Where's Severus?" she asked angrily.
"I thought you weren't friends with him anymore," James said.
"That's none of your business, Potter," she snarled, " I said Where.Is. Severus?"
"He's in the infirmary," Remus answered her, "Lily, it really was an accid..."
"And you!" Lily turned to Remus, "I actually had some hope for you! You seemed so much nicer than the rest of this lot!"
"Please keep your voice down, Miss Evans," Dumbledore and Slughorn appeared, "I understand that you are upset but shouting is not going to rectify this situation."
"I'm sorry, sir," Lily quieted down, "But where is Severus?"
"I am afraid that he had to go to St. Mungo's to treat his injuries," Dumbledore answered her.
Her eyes grew wide at the bloodstains on his robes.
"Is that..." she began as she pointed to his robes.
"Yes, I'm afraid so," Dumbledore replied, "Severus sustained some serious injuries."
"Can I see him, sir?" Lily asked as her eyes filled with tears.
James scowled. He absolutely hated it that even after months of not speaking to Severus, Lily was on the verge of tears and clearly upset at his plight. He had hoped that her anger with Severus had not diminished. It made him hate Severus even more.
"I'm afraid not, Lily," Dumbledore said kindly, "I know you are worried but we must wait until morning before we can see how Severus is faring. I am sad to say that tonight is not going to be a good night for him. I will send you a message letting you know the soonest you can see him."
Lilly sniffed again and nodded. She cast her fellow Gryffindors an angry, disgusted glance before leaving the Great Hall and attending to her prefect duties.
"You four need to get to work," Slughorn barked, obviously still angry that they had caused his favorite student such injuries.
"Yes, sir," they coursed and began to manually scrub the blood from the floor.
Peter began to gather up Severus's belongings. He picked up the herbology book. It was damaged as well as a couple of other books. Dumbledore seemed to notice. He took the books from Pettigrew as well as Severus's wand.
"You boys will also have to return these books to Madam Pince," he said gravely, "Since you caused these books to be damaged from Severus's fall you need to be responsible for the damage. You will report to her tomorrow and she will decide what should be done in regards to these books."
Sirius groaned. Madam Pince was very protective of her books. She could probably think up worse punishments than Filch.
"I told you were going to make restitution, Mr. Black," Dumbledore said sternly as he gazed at the boy over his half moon spectacles, "If you feel that your punishment in unfair then you can forgo it and you will be suspended. Do you feel that suspension is more appropriate here?"
"No, sir. Sorry, sir," Sirius mumbled as he dipped the spoiled brush back into the bucket of water and resumed scrubbing.
"Good," Dumbledore said as he turned to watch Peter scramble to pick up rolls and pieces of parchment, spilled bottles of ink and scattered quills that littered the Great Hall.
Dumbledore noticed another book on the floor. His heart leapt when he saw it. He recognized it almost immediately. It was a book that glorified the Dark Arts, Secrets of the Darkest Arts. The school library did not have a copy. He had refused to allow it. Dumbledore gingerly picked it up. Why would Severus have such a book? True, he was a Slytherin but the boy did not cause any trouble outside his episodes with the Marauders. Dumbledore opened the book and saw written in the front cover "Happy Hanukkah, Severus. I saw this in Borgin and Burkes and knew you would enjoy it. Your Friend, Lucius." Dumbledore's heart sank. The Malfoy family was nothing but trouble and Severus didn't need anymore of it. Dumbledore decided to take it back to his office and discuss it with Severus at a more appropriate time. Pushing those jarring thoughts from his mind, he stood and watched the boys somberly finish their task. When they finished they handed Professor Slughorn Severus's bag and stood before the headmaster.
"You may go to bed now," Dumbledore told them, "You will serve your first detention with Mr. Filch tomorrow night since I will be busy handling this serious situation. Also, remember your new responsibilities. You need to return the library books to Madam Pince as well as collect Severus's work. Don't forget to write a heartfelt letter of apology. I will expect it at your first detention with me. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir," the chorused.
"Very well. Good night," Dumbledore dismissed them.
"Goodnight, sir," they echoed to both Dumbledore and Slughorn.
They climbed the steps to Gryffindor tower silently and with heavy hearts. Though Dumbledore seemed satisfied that they had apologized, his disappointment in them was still blatantly obvious. His merry blue eyes were sad and had lost their twinkle. He was clearly very worried about Severus. The boys went directly to their dormitory, changed into their pajamas and muttered a feeble goodnight to each other before slipping into restless, uneasy sleep.
James Potter sandwiched himself between Remus and Sirius before serving himself some breakfast. His eyes drifted over to Lily and momentarily met hers. She scowled at him and abruptly turned away to talk to Mary. Mary shot him a disgusted look. It appeared that Lily had told her what had happened. He was surprised that Mary reacted so strongly given the fact that she didn't even like Severus. His eyes flickered over to the Slytherin table they were all whispering frantically and casting obvious, aggressive stares at the Marauders. Avery and Mulciber looked like they wanted nothing more than to tear them apart with their bare hands. James sighed. News certainly traveled fast around Hogwarts. Slytherin-Gryffindor rows were always a hot topic of gossip. James quickly finished his breakfast He wanted to hurry off to Transfiguration where he was certain the Professor McGonagall would have a few things to say. But before he could gulp down his pumpkin juice the post arrived. Four familiar owls were heading their way with what appeared to be howlers from home fastened to their legs. All of the boys groaned. Dumbledore hadn't wasted anytime informing their parents of their misconduct. Really, the day couldn't get much worse.
James sighed with relief when it was time for lunch. Professor McGonagall had held them back after class and gave them a good telling off about Severus. She had stated that she had never been so disappointed in a student before. She had barked at them for a good twenty minutes, causing them to be late for Potions. Professor Slughorn was still angry for he took ten points each from Gryffindor for their tardiness. He had also critiqued their potions rather harshly and sent stern looks their way the entire class. After Potions they had returned Severus's library books to an irate Madam Pince who gave them a dressing down about the damage. She had then informed them that their free period in the afternoon would be spent reorganizing and dusting the enormous shelves of books without magic. James was grateful to just be sitting among his friends without being yelled at for a moment.
"Does it seem like the entire school knows about Snivellus?" Sirius asked as he served himself some stew.
"Shhh! Keep your voice down," Remus hissed, "Someone might hear you call him that! We don't need told off again today!"
Sirius looked around. A fifth year Ravenclaw girl walked up to them.
"I just wanted you to know that what you did to Severus Snape was despicable! You are nothing more than a bunch of cowards the way you snuck up on him like that!" She spat out at them before stalking away.
"Why does everyone suddenly like Snivellus...I mean...Severus so much?" Sirius asked.
"Because what you did was terrible!" Lily snapped from down the table, "He never did anything to you to deserve that!"
Apparently the thought of them took away her appetite because she pushed her plate away and flounced up to the staff table where she entered an earnest conversation with Dumbledore. James's heart sank when Lily started crying. He felt as though he had lost any chance he might have had to be with her. He waited until late that evening when most of the other Gryffindors were in bed before approaching Lily. She was curled up on a couch in front of a fire reading a book and she did not seem pleased to see him.
"What do you want?" she hissed at him.
"I just wanted to see how you are," James answered her innocently.
"Mind your own business, Potter," she snapped, "I have nothing more to say to you, you arrogant bully!"
"Lily, please," he pleaded, "It was an accident! Truly! I never meant for it to happen."
"Oh?" Lily said sarcastically, "Just like you never meant for the OWL incident last spring to happen either?"
James grimaced; of course she would have to bring that up.
"I shouldn't have done that," he muttered.
"That's right," Lily said and returned to reading the book in her hand.
"I saw you talking to Dumbledore today," he stated.
"You're right sharp, aren't you?" she said without looking up.
James ignored the insult and sat down beside her on the couch much to her chagrin.
"You were talking about Severus, weren't you?" he asked.
"If you must know, yes," she answered him, looking up for the first time.
"How is he?" James inquired earnestly.
Lily gazed at him for a moment, apparently trying to see if he was serious.
"How do you think he is doing, James? He took four disarming spells to the chest! You are lucky you four didn't kill him!" Lily bluntly replied as she slammed her book closed.
James said nothing.
"Are you going to go see him?" he finally asked after several moments of silence.
"Yes," Lily replied, "My parents agreed that I may accompany Dumbledore to see Severus when the healers say that he is strong enough to have visitors."
James looked surprised.
"Don't look so shocked," Lily said, "I have been friends with Severus since we were little and my parents like him."
"So you're friends again now?" James asked as though it was hard to believe. He tried to keep the resentment out of his voice.
"That's none of your bloody business!" Lily squawked, "What goes on between Severus and me is none of your affair!"
With that she slammed her book down then stormed up the stairs to the girl's dormitory.
James sighed heavily and followed upstairs to the boy's dorms. He quickly changed into his pajamas and ungracefully plopped down on his bed. He sighed heavily as he wrinkled his nose at the smell of polish that still lingered on him. Filch had made them thoroughly polish everything in the trophy room for their detention that evening. It had taken them over two hours to finish the job. But Lily was troubling him even more. She was very angry with all four of them. The situation also seemed to redeem Severus and bring back her affection for him. She seemed to have forgotten that she was even angry with him and why. As he rolled over on his side, James wished for the thousandth time that the entire situation had never happened.
The Marauders, by the next morning, were the sole target of the Slytherins, especially Avery and Mulciber. They couldn't walk down a corridor without a hex or curse flying their way. They were endlessly taunted. No one seemed to object to this treatment and either smirked at them or looked away. Lily in particular was quite unsympathetic.
"Now you know what it is like to be bullied," she had told them, "Now you know how Severus felt!"
The Marauders constantly stayed together, not knowing when and where the next attack would occur. Though they hated to admit it, guilt fluttered in their stomachs. They had finally realized what it was like to walk in Severus's shoes and it was anything but easy.
A couple of days later Dumbledore approached the Gryffindor table at the beginning of lunch.
"Good afternoon, boys," he greeted them pleasantly, "Make sure your letter is completed. Your first detention with me is tonight in my office at eight."
"Yes, sir," they chorused as they glanced worriedly at each other.
"Miss Evans," Dumbledore said as he turned to Lily, "Come to my office after lunch and you may accompany me to visit Mr.Snape. The password is peppermint toads."
"Yes, sir!" Lily instantly brightened.
She hurriedly finished her lunch while ignoring the Marauders before dashing up to her dorm to collect a large package of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans that she had picked up for Severus at Honeydukes. She halted in the corridor by the stone gargoyle. She took a deep breath before giving it the password.
"Peppermint toads," she said breathlessly.
The gargoyle leapt aside and the wall split apart. Lily walked up the spiral staircase and knocked on the office door.
"Come in," Dumbledore called placidly.
Lily walked in the room and was glad to see Dumbledore already dressed in a traveling cloak.
"I am glad that you are accompanying me, Miss Evans," he said as he motioned her toward the fireplace, "It will do Severus good to have some visitors."
"Yes, professor," Lily agreed, then hesitated, "His parents haven't seen him, have they?"
"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore said sadly, "Do you know them?"
"Not really," Lily admitted, "I've known Severus for several years, since we were children. His parents...well...to be perfectly honest they totally ignore him. He really is truly neglected. And his dad...he's a drunk...a mean one, too. They never seemed to care where he was or what he was doing. I know my mum had called the muggle authorities a few times when we were younger but nothing ever came of it."
"I see," Dumbledore said with a sad shake of his head at their indifference toward their only child.
It had broken his heart when the healers at St. Mungo's had told him that Severus's parents had not visited him and had no intentions to. They had simply asked to be notified if he turned for the worst. The poor boy had been in constant pain and in distress for several days and had to bear it alone.
They quickly flooed to St. Mungo's. Lily followed Dumbledore up the stairs. While Dumbledore inquired at the desk Lily read the sign on the wall: Fourth Floor: Spell Damage. Her stomach did a somersault. It sounded pretty serious. But before she could think about it anymore Dumbledore motioned for her to follow him.
"He is heavily sedated," he told her as they walked down the corridor, "The nurse told me that he was in a lot of pain and the pain relief potions have made him very lethargic."
"I understand," Lily said as she clutched the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans even tighter to her chest. She felt a little scared and nervous as they walked down the long corridor until they came to the right room. Dumbledore held the door open for her and Lily took a timid step in the room. Severus lay in the bed looking even thinner and paler than ever. His face looked pale even against the crisp, white sheets on the bed. The only color on his face was the yellowing bruises as they healed. Lily stepped over to his bedside.
"Severus?" she called softly as she gently shook his bony, thin shoulder, "Severus?"
His dark eyes fluttered open momentarily then he closed them again. He didn't even seem to realize that there was anyone else in the room. His breathing was still shallow, making his thin lips lose any color. The boy looked very, very sick.
"Sev?" Lily tried again, gently caressing his bruised cheek.
Relief flooded her when he finally looked at her. He blinked slowly as if uncertain that she was truly there. Lily smiled at him then sat down next to him on the bed and took his hand in hers. Suddenly he pulled his hand out of hers and a familiar sneer came over his face.
"What are you doing here?" he asked slowly.
"I am so scared for you, Severus," Lily answered, "When I heard what had happened I was upset. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Don't worry yourself," Severus told her, "You never cared before."
"I know you're angry with me and I don't blame you," Lily replied sadly, "I was wrong. I should never have thrown away years of friendship over something so silly."
They looked at one another for a long time. Severus's obsidian eyes bored into her green, evidentially trying to decide if she was being honest. Dumbledore stood back and watched. He didn't know what they were talking about and he wanted to give them a chance to work it out themselves before stepping in. Finally, Severus gave her a small smirk and Lily smiled in return. She took his hand again and this time he let her.
I will have the next chapter out in a couple of days...I promise! Then this story will be complete