AN: Hey everyone, sorry for the extremely long hiatus but I am finally back! Happy 1st September.
It felt particularly strange meeting this particular group of students, knowing the lasting influence they would have on his childrens lives. He knew from experience, both from his own schooldays and from his tenure as Professor and Head of Slytherin House that it would be them, not him, who would have the most impact on who they would become as adults and he was relieved to find them in good company.
He didn't know of any of their new housemates personally yet of course but he knew of most of their parents and had taught some of their older siblings and hadn't had much trouble with any of them and going by their attentiveness and diligence today, he didn't expect any of this lot to be especially troublesome either.
He admittedly had some reservations about the young miss Cassiopeia Black, particularly with her uncle now on the loose, but he didn't have any grievances with Regulus, they had always gotten along well enough despite Severus' longtime hatred of his brother and he had been completely exonerated after the war, same as he had. He couldn't exactly find fault with the child herself either, quiet but not shy, she had been able to answer every question he had asked of her and had been most polite in doing so.
Walsh, the muggleborn boy, did seem a little rough around the edges however, and bore some of the unmistakable marks of extreme poverty that had marred him own childhood but while Severus made a mental note to check with Flitwick to ensure that he got all the support he needed he thankfully seemed to be fitting in okay. He was a cheery, amiable sort and was extremely quick and eager to learn, even by Ravenclaw standards.
He truly was delighted that the twins had been placed in Ravenclaw. When he had thought about it over the summer he really couldn't decide which house he would have wanted for them if the choice were his. He was relieved for his own sake that they weren't Gryffindors of course but in some ways he would have liked for them to be with Harry, particularly as they were only getting to know one other so late in their childhoods. It would have been nice too if they had followed him into Slytherin, but difficult as it was to separate his status as their teacher and his status as their father, there would have been potential for situations to become very awkward for all involved in the future if he was their Head of House too! Ravenclaw was perfect. Good reputation, peers with a good focus on education and a house to themselves giving them more room to spread their wings,
He liked that they were still together too, there would have been benefits to them being split of course, particularly the incentive and space it would have given them to forge their own individual friendships but after knowing the pain of being split from his Lily, he really couldn't have wished that for them. There would still be plenty of opportunities for them to widen their separate social circles when they were ready and if it did turn out that they needed more a push in that regard he would have the power to ensure they partnered with other students for his classes at least.
No, all in all, he didn't think he was going to have to much to worry about in regards to Lily and Evan which was just a well as he had his hands completely full with their brother already. The third of September, less than 48 hours since they had boarded the train at Kingscross and Harry had been attacked by dementors, disrupted the Sorting Ceremony, had his imminent death foretold by Trelawney and befriended the werewolf and that was without even considering the issue of Black still being at large. Talk about a magnet for trouble! It was going to be a long year...
While Severus and the Twins were experiencing their first Potions class together, Trouble Magnet himself was enjoying an introduction to Muggle Studies with Professor Burbage. Poor Harry had been so unsure about his subject choice of Divination yesterday but he was certain he had made the right choice with Muggle Studies. It was truly fascinating to look at the muggle life he knew so well from a purely wizarding standpoint and the first topic of learning, 'What is a muggle?' really opened his mind. He did have a vague recollection of touching on this topic in first year History of Magic of course but whether it was because Professor Burbage went more in depth or whether it was just that Professor Binns was so boring that he hadn't been paying attention but he had never really considered what it was that made some people able to wield magic and others not before. The genetics of it all was just so incredibly interesting and the memory it provoked of rolling his tongue and drawing punnet squares in primary school really highlighted just how much his life had changed in a few short years.
Back then the topic of heredity had made him feel lonely, anxious and embarrassed – he didn't know what traits he had inherited from which parent, because he didn't know his parents. He didn't even have any pictures, not even of his mother, whose sister he had been living with and so he was left to guess what traits he had inherited from what parent based on the features he shared with his aunt (none!) and had determined that he had mostly favoured his father, and he did – just not the father he had been thinking of at the time...
His next class, a purely practical DADA lesson featuring the Bogart from last nights detention, started off equally fascinating. He had stumbled into Professor Lupins classroom positively giddy with excitement knowing what awaited them.
All was going wonderfully. Lupin really was shaping up to be one of the best teachers Harry had ever had. He was incredibly knowledgable about his subject, his instructions were clear and concise and he had no issues maintaining discipline. Everyone in the class understood exactly what they needed to do and were quick to master the ridikulus spell that forced the Bogart to turn into something hilarious.
No one could possibly argue that he wasn't competent at the job, especially when you considered his predecessors, so why did his father have so many misgivings about him?
It was difficult to reconcile the seemingly kind and patient man before him with the one his father had warned him against, was it just because of his shabbiness? He knew from experience that his father could be a bit of a stickler about personal appearance, something admittedly, he found a little hypocritical considering that his father suffered from perpetually greasy hair from being in the lab all the time, but he was quite dapper in his dress he supposed.
Still, while seemingly unfounded, his fathers cautions continued to niggle somewhat at his conscience, but he pushed it to the back of his mind and endeavoured to keep his focus on the lesson at hand. It was so interesting to discover his classmates deepest darkest fears, and he couldn't help but wonder about the events that might have prompted such fears, especially in the case of some of the more random fears. Hermione, for example, turned out to be afraid of babies!
He would have to ask her about that later, when Lupin had them line up before introducing the lesson he had tried to keep his friends at the back, where they could better enjoy the theatrics but Hermione, being Hermione, had raced towards the front but he was very curious as to the reason behind it. Only Malfoy, still pitifully nursing his arm, and his moronic lackeys Crabbe and Goyle were behind them, jostling him from time to time when they were certain Lupin wasn't looking.
Harry eagerly awaited his rivals turn with the Bogart. He was sick of the spoiled whiny Slytherin mocking him over what had happened with the Dementor on the train and was keen to discover what he feared – he could bet it was something way sillier than a Dementor! It wasn't just the insight into his classmates psyches that made the lesson so wonderful though, it was also unbelievably funny, his sides were actually beginning to hurt he was laughing so much at the hilarious formations the Bogarts were being forced to shift into. It was definitely the most enjoyable class he had ever had - until it absolutely wasn't.
When it came to Nevilles turn, Lupin asked what it was that he was most afraid of, and with an embarrassed glance back down the line at Harry, he had apologetically confessed that it was Professor Snape. Lupin had then asked him about his grandmother before whispering something in his ear and when the Bogart slipped out of the cupboard in his fathers form, Neville swished his wand and suddenly Bogart Snape was dressed in Augusta Longbottoms clothes.
Harrys stomach dropped, he wasn't sure if it was the mortification of his classmates ribbing as they
literally collapsed onto the floor, rolling around in fits of laughter or if was the anger he felt on his fathers behalf but he actually felt sick.
It took a solid ten minutes for Lupin to call the class back to order after that, ten minutes in which Harry had stood there aghast, wishing the ground would just swallow him up.
Lupin wasn't exactly helping the matter either. Not only was Harry certain that the professor had prompted Neville to transform his fathers robes into old lady clothes in the first place, his failure to put a swift end to the mockery that followed was taken by the students as permission to continue. He had been absolutely howling with laughter at the visual, tears running down his face kind of laughter, completely oblivious to the extreme discomfort the incident was causing the boy. Eventually though, he did manage to compose himself enough to remember that he was the teacher and that it was inappropriate to encourage the lampooning of one of his colleagues and started half heartedly steering them back to the lesson.
Such juvenile behaviour alone was enough for Harry to realise his Father had been right after-all in warning him against the new professor, as of course he should have known from the start. Nevertheless, the worst part of it was that Lupin only let another three students go after that before bringing the class to a rather abrupt end just as it came to Harry's turn. He didn't understand why, there were only four students left and plenty of time? Lupins decision, for which he had given no explanation or excuse, made absolutely zero sense.
Poor Harry had been so excited to face off against the Bogart, and not only that but as Malfoy hadn't had the chance to try his hand either, he had missed out on an opportunity to level the playing field between them. He left the class incredibly disappointed and as he had unfortunately predicted the story of Bogart Snape spread through the school like wildfire becoming more and more satirical each and every time it was retold.
Harry was expecting his father to be upset when he heard about it, maybe even disappointed with him, that he had been there and had failed to defend his honour. Secretly though, Severus was absolutely delighted, not that that prevented him from glowering at Lupin when he sat down beside him at dinner of course.
Feeling genuine remorse at his point, Lupin tried to apologise, "I'm sorry about the Bogart, Severus, I never thought it would turn into this, I didn't think at all i suppose, I don't have any experience with teenagers."
"You were a teenager were you not?" Severus asked him sardonically before reminding him of how he and his friends had enjoyed taunting him in their own teenage years too.
Lupin looked aghast, "I'm sorry for that too Severus" he said regretfully.
"Hmmm" Severus replied, clearly not believing him, before pointedly turning away and striking up a conversation with Professor Sinistra instead. Lupin graciously let him enjoy the remainder of his meal in peace but later that evening attempted once more to assuage his guilt by paying a visit to his office.
Severus stood in the doorway, arms folded, glowering intensely at him but Lupin wouldn't be perturbed. "Please Severus" he tried again. Severus rolled his eyes, groaning, as he hauled him into the room away from prying eyes, slamming the door behind them.
"Merlins sake man, have you no self respect?" he admonished, "Won't you just leave me alone, I don't care about your little stunt with the Bogart anyways, infact, it was somewhat of a gift to me!"
Lupin looked at him quizzically until he explained "While obviously I hate being ridiculed, there are only three students whose opinions I truly care about and from the looks my Son was giving you earlier I think it's safe to say my children will never trust you again. An outcome I couldn't possibly be any-more delighted with!"
Lupin froze as the realisation of what the incident with the Bogart meant for his future relationship with Harry dawned on him. He and Lily had been close, they had been prefects together and the opportunity to get to know her son, the child that she and two of their friends had died for, was one of the main reasons he had actually agree to accept Dumbledores job offer and now the poor child would probably hate him forever.
Severus smirked, "Care to join me for a celebratory drink?" he goaded, gesturing towards his private quarters?
Lupin shook his head, sighing sorrowfully. "No thank you Severus, I apologise once again for the Bogart but I can't understand what you are feeling so victorious about. Your son has enough enemies, any decent father would be only delighted for him to have another adult in his life who genuinely cares about him."
Furious at the insinuation about his parenting, The potions master went for the low blow, reminding his former classmate of his affliction and how much of a danger it made him but it seemed the wolf had lost his patience with him now. "It's once a month Severus, and its being controlled as you of all people should know so unless you mess up, I am not a danger to anyone. I don't know what you think you've gained by poisoning Harry against me but go ahead, you enjoy your little celebration." He snapped, before finally taking his leave, leaving a now somewhat less triumphant Severus to contemplate his actions.