After the Storm

-Grimmauld Place, the following day-

Harry yawned and stretched his arms, having achieved a good night's sleep. Light streamed in from the windows and lit up his bright green eyes. He was sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast. So far the whole Order was asleep with the exception of Hermione and Ron who had just sat down beside him for breakfast. They mumbled hello in sleepy voices and gave him a pat on the back.

The kitchen was nice and neat again despite being such a disaster the previous day. The utensils were put away and a dented frying pan sat pitifully in the trash. Harry looked at the floor and felt his stomach go sour as he remembered how bloodied it had been. Harry's mind wandered back to the events of last night, most of which he had regretfully missed.

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(flashback to day before)

After hearing Snape's nasty comment he had fled upstairs to sob in private. He had heard a commotion taking place below, but didn't think much of it until he heard Dumbledore yell. That's how he knew something big must have happened.

He went downstairs to find the kitchen strewn with broken glass, cooking utensil, blood, and a bent frying pan. Surely, the dragon fart didn't leave behind any blood. "What in Merlin's name happened here?" He said while eyeing the smudges of blood on the tile. Hermione and Ron looked at each other.

"You missed a hell of a brawl, Harry." Ron responded, while bits of cupcake flew out of his mouth. "Snape and Sirius argued a lil' bit and Snape got way out of line, so Sirius gave it to him. Broke his nose open in two seconds flat."

Harry's eyes lit up with amusement. Snape getting what he deserved and Harry had missed it? He needed to hear about the details.

"Tell me everything! Who won?" He said with excitement. Molly jumped into the conversation. "Shhh, boys. Talk about it upstairs and don't cause any trouble."

The golden trio went upstairs and Ron fed Harry in on the details of the fight. Harry's jaw dropped. "I can't believe I missed this! What happened when Professor Dumbledore came in?"

Hermione explained Dumbledore's request. "So, basically, if they cannot get along or at least be civil, they'll be out of the Order."

"It's really rubbish." Ron said. "How can Dumbledore kick Sirius out if the meetings take place in his house?"

Harry nodded in agreement.

Hermione shook her head. "Dumbledore is a wise wizard, we all know that. And he means what he says. Besides, he could always find a new place for the Order to meet in case Sirius was thrown out."

Harry frowned. "Snape's going to be out. I know it. He can't put aside his hate for my dead father and instead takes it out on me. If he can't let that go, then he'll never be civil with Sirius. Besides, he can always run back to his Death Eater pals, if in fact he hasn't already."

"Dumbledore trusts him, Harry. I don't think Dumbledore would be that easy to fool. If Snape was still a Death Eater he would know of it. I may not like him either, but his spy work is important for the Order. If we lose him, we lose our eyes and ears into Voldemort's inner circle." Hermione said while easing her thick hair into a messy bun.

Harry's only response was a sassy eye roll. Hermione sighed.

"I think we all need to get some sleep. It's been a long day." She said.

With that, they all decided to call it a day and go to sleep.

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Harry was glad that justice had been served. He gobbled down breakfast eager to spend the day with his godfather. Hermione gave him a disapproving look as he paddled through his bowl of Wizard O's forcefully, spilling milk all over the table.

"Someone's hungry…" She remarked. "I think you have Ron beat this time." She glanced over at Ron to discover she had spoken too soon. Ron was gluttonously eating a jelly donut, his face decorated with a raspberry beard.

All three of them laughed until their sides hurt. Their moment of joy was interrupted when a certain potions master strode into the room and started fiddling around with the coffee maker.

Their eyes opened in shock; never did they ever think to see their teacher in his pajamas.

His hair was tangled and greasy, but it did not hide his obviously broken nose.

He was dressed in a pair of green pajamas covered with a pattern of little black cauldrons. They were ill fitting and hung off his gaunt frame. On his feet were a pair of fluffy slippers, one with a hole where his big toe stuck out. Ron and Harry were barely able to stifle their giggles. Snape grumbled something under his breath as he prepared the coffee. He stood there with his back to them completely ignoring their presence.

For some reason, Hermione had the mistaken impression that she should be polite and say good morning.

"Good morning Professor, how are ….." She began before Snape spun around and silenced her with an icy glare.

"Don't even think to speak to me before I have had my coffee Miss Granger. It's far too early." He mumbled sounding half asleep.

"Sorry sir I.."

Snape held a finger up to his thin lips and signaled for her to be quiet.

Hermione held her tongue but was taken off guard by how bruised his face was. His sallow skin was marked by odd shapes of blue and purple. His hooked nose was red and swollen and pointed towards the right.

Harry almost felt bad for him. The man's face looked like a painting from Picasso's blue period. Still, he did have it coming.

Snape poured himself some coffee into a mug with the phrase "Sarcasm makes the heart grow fonder". He liked his coffee black, unsurprisingly. Snape sulked over to the table where the golden trio was sitting plopped himself down at the far end. He took a sip of his coffee and then popped open a crisp newspaper. Seeing that his attention was elsewhere, the children continued jesting Ron about his sticky beard.

A few minutes later, two sets of footsteps approached the kitchen. Molly walked cheerfully into the kitchen and greeted everyone with a warm smile. Then something funny happened. She at took a look at Snape and then turned to look at the door. Her eyes grew wide and her smile turned into an awkward gape.

Standing there in the doorway was a livid looking Sirius. His face too, was badly bruised and he had a welt from the frying pan above his right ear. His lip was still a little swollen and he had painful looking scratches down his neck. But the scariest thing was the furious look on his face, and it was directed straight at the back of Snape's head.