Disclaimer: The plot is ours, but the majority of the main characters belong to the imagination of J.K. Rowling. We do not gain any profit from writing this story.
Summary: With the Grimoire in safe hands and James Potter expelled, Severus Snape, Lily Evans, and their friends expected that their remaining time at Hogwarts would be smooth sailing. Unfortunately, the intentions of a few detestable individuals will make their lives more arduous. With the help of a few new friends, they all must join together to fight against the rising tide of evil in the Wizarding World.
A/N: This story is A/U (Alternative Universe) and is NOT canon compliant. If you don't like Sev/Lily fiction, don't read it.
Hard Times To Come
James sat glumly at the dining room table, pushing his food around on his plate. He had virtually no contacts at Hogwarts anymore. Mary had joined Snivellus' bunch of losers. Lisa was too dumb and too obvious to find out anything useful, and Daniel just ignored him.
Dante only contacted him if he needed something from him. He thought about the spell Dante had cast on him and shivered despite the manor being overly warm. Everybody on his junior Quidditch team made fun of him because his father had been cheated by that criminal Gabriel Schell. Today had been the first Hogsmeade visit and tonight was the Halloween Feast. He should have been there. It wasn't fair!
Mavis noticed James wasn't eating and it was his favorite meal, roast pork. She cast a worried look at James and then asked, "Jamie, why aren't you eating? Are you feeling ill?" Charles was working late tonight so he wouldn't be home until after Jamie's bedtime.
"No...I was just thinking about Hogwarts. Today was the first visit to Hogsmeade and everybody's at the feast right now."
"I would have taken you if you wanted to go."
James made a face. "Nobody my age goes with their mum on a Hogsmeade Weekend."
"The elves made your favorite dessert, chocolate treacle tart, darling," Mavis coaxed, trying another tact.
"Mum, why does everybody hate me? I don't have any friends not at Hogwarts or on my Quidditch team."
"They don't," Mavis assured him. "They're just jealous because you're so talented and they're not."
"Sirius, Remus, and Peter all left me. Mary wants nothing to do with me nor do Daniel or Lisa."
"Well if they were your true friends, they would have stood by you no matter what," Mavis replied stoutly. "Now how about some treacle tart?"
James shook his head. "I'm going to start on my assignments." He saw the expression on his mum's face then and shrugged. "Maybe later."
Mavis sighed worriedly. James was behaving strangely tonight. She needed to talk to Charles because someone might have cast a spell on him that was causing this gloomy attitude.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
By the time everyone had gotten back, word had spread to the entire school about what had happened. Sam had put Cassidy Doherty in his place.
Word was spreading, and fast. Whispers arose. The spoke about Sam being 'The Great Red Hope' needed to bring Doherty, and quite possibly Dante down to heel? Sam cared not for empty whispers. He was just tired of it all.
Sam kept to himself and kept a low profile when he returned to Hogwarts with his friends.
He was called up to Dumbledore's office and gave his side of accounts. Of course Cassidy was there with Dante giving his side as well.
Sam sighed as he ran his hands through his hair as he recalled what happened next. He assumed Dumbledore would take Dante's side and as a result, Sam would suffer for daring to stand up to Doherty.
However, Sam was surprised when Dumbledore placed Cassidy on academic suspension indefinitely for what he'd said and done. Cassidy Doherty left Professor Dumbledore's office in a bad mood, and Dante was in no position to help.
Things got interesting when Dumbledore asked Sam to drop by his office any time so that they could chat. Dante got in between him and the Headmaster as he rushed Sam out of the office.
That was a few hours ago and Sam was at the Great Hall with his friends just as the Halloween Feast started.
The food had been presented, and everybody was eating their fill. However Sam wasn't really that hungry. He was picking at his roast chicken, his mind was light years away at that point.
"Sam? Hey Sam!"
Sam snapped out of his haze, "What? I'm sorry, what were you saying, Nate?"
"I hadn't said anything yet, I'm just wanted to break you out of your little fog."
"Oh sorry Nate."
Nate looked at his oldest friend. He knew that his head was heavy with thought about the events that transpired. All of Sam's friends shared a look.
Tom Braider cleared his throat and began to address Sam. "Sam, we've been talking."
"Who's we?"
"Us," Jessica said. "All of us."
Sam put down his fork, "What have you been talking about?"
"About his whole situation with Dante and Cassidy." Nate clasped his hands together. "And we all came to a conclusion."
Sam felt his breath hitch.
"We're with you."
Sam exhaled.
Slink smirked, "What? Were you thinking we were going to just leave you? Right when the gettin' is good?"
"Well the thought came up."
"That's not us, Sam." Michael piped up.
"No it's not." Nate looked at his close friend. "I'll be honest there was a part of me that thought you'd never stand up to Dante and Cassidy. However, I'm glad to be proven otherwise."
Sam shook his head softly.
"The point is this, we know you have our best intentions. So, going forward we will all trust your judgment whilst dealing with Dante and Doherty."
Sam looked around at his close group of friends. He fought the urge to shed a tear, "Thank you guys."
"Save your tears Sami," His sister, Hippolyta, chimed in. "The hard part is still to come."
Tom shook his head, "That's right. What is to be done about Dante?"
"I saw we rush him!" Renner said after he finished his second roast chicken. "We'd outnumber him."
His sister, Vienna, threw her own two cents in. "I don't recommend that big brother. He's obviously gotten some special training in his time away from Hogwarts. Plus he's always in his guard, it's nigh impossible to catch him unaware."
Even as a first year, Vienna still surprised everyone with her high level of intellect. A trait passed down from her mother.
Sebastian barged in on the conversation, "Whatever happens with Dante should be Sam's decision."
"That's fair," Nate motioned towards Sam, "We trust you Sam."
"Again, thank you." Sam gave his group a soft smile before going back to his meal.
"But what will you do about Dante, Sam?" Agamemnon asked his older brother.
Sam looked at Augie, and sighed. "I don't know Augie, but I know something has to be done. I can see that now."
At that moment the evening edition of 'The Daily Prophet' came in by owl as it did. Copies of the newspaper landed before the students and staff members who subscribed to the paper.
A copy landed before Gabriel who was in the midst of drinking his pineapple tea. Said tea was spat out almost immediately upon glancing at the headline. "Gott in Himmel!"
Minerva was surprised to hear Gabriel revert back to his native tongue. "What's the matter Gabriel?"
Gabriel wordlessly showed McGonagall the evening's headline.
"Dear Merlin!"
A copy of the evening's post landed upon Bartholomew's lap and he read the headline, and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Sam, you may want to take a look at this."
"Hmm? What is it Bart?"
Before Sam could ask, a loud bellowing came over from Severus' friend group.
"What the Hell is this thestral shite?!"
Sirius Black had read the headline, and he was none too happy.
Sam looked over at his former best friend, and back over at the newspaper that Bartholomew had tossed over at him.
He took one look at the headline and understood what Sirius' deal was.
'Orion Arcturus Black. Auror. Hero. Murderer?' Article written by Rita Skeeter.
Sam didn't even get to read the article in full before he was called out.
"YALARAD! Did you do this?!" Sirius leapt up from his seat ready to make a beeline to Sam but he was stopped by his friends, who were telling him to stop.
"Sirius, wait a minute!" Severus called.
"Don't do anything stupid!" Frank urged.
"Just take a minute and calm down," Remus advised.
Sam couldn't believe that this was happening, and then a thought crossed his mind. He sprung up and ran out of the Great Hall.
"YALARAD GET BACK HERE!" Sirius shouted after him, but to no avail.
Sam ran in a mad sprint up the grand staircase all the way up to his room in Gryffindor House.
He was out of breath but made it to his trunk and unlocked it. Sam was taught 'Snoop's Retribution' by his uncle to keep anyone from getting into his things, and he put the spell over his trunk.
Sam opened the trunk and began taking everything out. Books, filled journals, and other assorted items. All his things were up ended on the floor when Gabriel and Professor McGonagall came in.
"Mister Yalarad, is everything alright?"
"Sami?" Gabriel took a look around the floor. A whole bunch of things littered the ground. He glanced over at the trunk and found that it was empty. "I'm sorry Sami."
Sam wordlessly closed his trunk and rubbed his forehead. Wiping away the sweat that had pooled on his brow.
"What was in the trunk," Minerva asked Gabriel.
"From what Sam told me, it was a copy of the Commission Report made investigating Silas' death. Apart from me, and Severus Snape being made aware recently. Two other people knew about it. Nathan Clearwater, and Dante."
Minerva's eyes widened, "Do you think he sent the report to Rita Skeeter?"
"I would bet my newly won fortune on it, and I'll tell you right now, when this gets back to him I'm going to force Dumbledore to expel the cretin…."
Sam caught his breath and banged on the top of the trunk in a weird pattern. Luckily, Gabriel and McGonagall only caught the last two beats before turning back to Sam. He opened the trunk again, and there laying on the bottom of the trunk was a few more things, and one of those things was Sam's copy of the Commission Report.
Sam picked it up and examined it. "It's still here. This isn't a copy, or at least a new copy." Sam sighed, as he turned to Gabriel. "One of the first things you taught me was the 'Helpful Hiding' charm in case I needed to hide anything in plain sight."
"So I did. Now if you would be so kind as to hand over that report. I think it would be safer with me," Gabriel asked for the report.
Sam clutched the report close. "No! I just had to make sure it was safe. Now that I know I can put it back."
"Until Dante wants it for himself, look kid, it's not safe where it is. It would be better off with me," Gabriel explained.
Sam thought it over, and reluctantly handed the report over to Gabriel. He knew it was safer in his hands.
"Thank you, after this whole mess is sorted, I'll give this back."
Professor McGonagall advised, "I think it would be better suited back with the MLE, or with Sherwood."
"Maybe, but that's another discussion to be had at another time," Gabriel shrunk the report down so he could put it in his pocket. He looked back at his godson, "You want help putting everything back?"
Sam crossed his arms, "M'fine."
Gabriel sighed, "Thank you for this Sam. I'll make it up to you."
"You'd better," Sam teased his godfather back.
Gabriel gave Sam a small hug, Minerva cleared her throat. "The feast isn't over yet, but I feel like you'd probably want to stay here?"
Sam shook his head sheepishly.
"I'll have the house elf send up some food and treats from the kitchen."
"Thank you, Professor."
After a few more words both McGonagall and Gabriel left Sam alone to clean up his room.
With a wave of his wand, everything was put back into the trunk. Sam plopped down onto his bed and sighed. He figured it was time to ask grandfather some questions. About the report, about his father, and about what to do with Dante.
He would send a letter to Sherwood in the morning, but for now all he wanted was some peace and quiet.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
After the Halloween feast, Severus was working on his essay for Charms and Bart was reading. Greymalkin was laying on Severus' desk, purring loudly. He was having a hard time keeping his mind on what he was writing and ended up crumpling up three or four pieces of parchment. Why did the United keep jeopardizing the alliance by allowing Dante and Cassidy to pull their scummy tricks? Not only was Sirius furious, but Remus, Frank and Peter were angry too. He couldn't imagine what it was going to be like in their dorm tonight. McGonagall might have to end up putting a temporary barricade between the groups.
All of a sudden there was a blast of noise coming from somewhere below them. They heard loud shouting and other noises that sounded like a stampede.
'What in Merlin's name?" Bart exclaimed.
Severus pulled open the door and looked out. Black Donal, who was inhabiting a single room right across the hall from them, also came out. He nodded at Severus and Bart. "You stay here, Master Snape, and I will go and find out what is amiss."
He was back in a few minutes, shaking his head. "Someone set off two dung bombs in the third-year dormitory and Professor Slughorn has to find other places for the third years to sleep because the stench is pretty bad."
Severus rolled his eye. He should have guessed when he saw those bags from Zonko's that Sirius and Reg were carrying and Reg had sworn many times that he was going to dung bomb that little swatter, Barty Crouch. "We shouldn't be surprised because Zonko's does a lot of business on Hogsmeade weekends."
"And of course, nobody will confess to it," Bart added.
Severus grinned to himself. Not unless Reg wanted his mum coming through the floo to wallop him like she had done to Sirius in his first year. "I'm sure Clive and the other Slytherin elves have a solution for getting rid of the stench."
I certainly hope so," Bart replied.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
The floo in Grimmauld Place roared alive as Walburga Black stormed through the fireplace.
She was at the Monthly Witches Society meeting, which was being hosted at Silverwood by her friend, Leonora Yalarad.
Marcus intruded the meeting by asking for his wife and Walburga, about an urgent matter.
At first, Walburga thought that Sirius had gotten into a fight with Dante, that would have been preferred to what Marcus revealed to them.
He showed them both the evening post of 'The Daily Prophet' and to say Walburga was livid was an understatement. She was pissed.
Walburga was back at home, her anger turned to concern about what her husband may be thinking. Orion always read the evening edition in his study after dinner.
She strode over to his study door and found Alphard knocking on the door, a copy of the newspaper in his hands. "Orion! Open the door! We can talk about this!"
Walburga rushed over, "Move over." She pushed her brother out of the way.
"I'm guessing you read the article?"
"No, but Marcus told me about it. He said his contact at 'The Daily Prophet' alerted him about the article going live. He tried to quash it, but it was too late."
Walburga pounded on the door, "Orion Arcturus Black, open this door right now!"
The door remained locked, she turned to her brother. "Have you tried unlocking the door?"
"He's got it locked down, you remember the fortifications he's done to the place."
Walburga cursed under her breath. "Kreacher!"
The house elf popped into existence, "How may Kreacher be of service?"
"Unlock this door at once!"
"I'm afraid Kreacher cannot do that. Master Orion enchanted the door so that Kreacher's magic cannot work on it." His ears fell down as he explained.
Walburga pounded on the door again, she was on the edge, a breath away from teetering over. Her breath hitched as tears stinged her face. "Orion, please. Please open the door!"
A moment passed, and then the door unlocked.
Walburga rushed in with Kreacher and Alphard following close behind.
Orion was at his desk, the newspaper opened on his desk. A near empty bottle of Fire Whiskey off on the side. His face was cupped in his hands as he hunched over his desk.
"Orion…"
"It's over, Walla. I'm a dead man." Orion looked up at his wife. His eyes red, his face flushed from the Fire Whiskey. "It's all over Walla. There is no way this won't end in a trial or an inquiry."
"We don't know that Orion," Walla went to comfort her husband. She held him in her arms as she soothed him.
"It's not over yet, I'm still trying to find a way to reverse the unbreakable vow. There has to be a way to do it without Mother," Alphard stated. "I mean what's the alternative, Orion? Taking the easy way out?"
Orion looked away.
Walburga was horrified, "ORION!"
"If I do this way. I can at least…"
Orion was interrupted by a hard slap from his wife. He held his cheek which was now red and started to swell.
Walburga took a moment to compose herself and choose her words. "This is a challenging time for our family. I will not have it made worse by you robbing our children of their father." She hands on his shoulders as Orion looked up at her. "We are going to get through this Orion, do you hear me?"
Orion slowly shook his head.
"Now you're going to head to bed and sober up. We will discuss our next steps in the morning."
Alphard walked over to his cousin and draped an arm over his shoulder to steady him. "Come on Orion, let's get you to bed." He helped Orion walk to a guest room to sleep everything off.
Kreacher looked up at Walburga, "Can Kreacher be of any further assistance?"
"No Kreacher, please leave me, and close the door on your way out."
"As you wish, Kreacher hears and obeys." Kreacher snapped his fingers, the door was shut, and he popped back to his duties.
Seeing as she was alone, Walburga allowed herself to feel overwhelmed. Tears ran freely as she cried. She dared not cry in front of her husband, lest his own emotions grew more compromised. She held it together just long enough.
Walburga wiped her tears away, as she cried herself out. She composed herself before leaving her husband's study. Vowing to figure out who had done this to her beloved husband.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Marius read the article as he drank his evening tea. He couldn't believe Rita Skeeter would debase herself to write this malarkey. Giving out explicit and safeguarded secrets so nonchalantly.
Vesper walked into the living room where Marius was, "How many more times must you read that article, Marius?"
Marius sighed and put the newspaper down. He had re-read it several times over. "I apologize, my love. I just…I just can't believe Skeeter would jeopardize Orion's career so frivolously like that. It's appalling."
Vesper nodded in agreement, "I think you should speak with the Blacks tomorrow about possibly representing them, in case the worst happens."
"I was going to do that regardless. I feel that a lawsuit may be coming towards Ms. Skeeter's way in the near future, and well warranted I may say."
Marius rose up and stretched a bit before walking to join his wife for bed.
However before they could leave, the fireplace suddenly erupted in flames. A face wasn't visible, but they could hear a faint voice.
"Sanctuary. Sanctuary."
Marius and Vesper looked at the fireplace.
"Someone is calling for aid," Marius mentioned. He walked closer to the fireplace, but Vesper stopped him.
"Marius, wait. What if it's a trap? It could be one of Dante's cohorts!"
"It could be, but it may be someone in desperate need. I can't turn someone away who calls for Sanctuary, it's in the code." Marius approached the floo. "Whoever this is, I am Marius Prince, please come through. I grant you Sanctuary."
Marius backed away to give this person space, while Vesper had her wand at the ready to defend them.
A hunched over figure fell through the floo, and collapsed onto the floor.
Marius and Vesper recognized the figure.
"It's Robert Gold, Vesper." Marius went over to help him up. "Robert what…dear Merlin."
Vesper walked over and saw what gave Marius pause. "Great Caesar's ghost!"
Robert was in a bad way. He was littered with bruises, cuts, and lacerations. However his chief injury was that his right arm, his dueling arm, was cut off just above his elbow joint. It looked to have been self-cauterized by Robert to stop the flow of blood.
Marius helped Robert get up to his feet. "Vesper, get the Magnusson's. Specifically Black Conor, he's skilled in healing."
"Right, take him to the guest room down by my potions lab!" Vesper went to get them as Marius helped Robert to the room.
Black Leif and Conor met the two on the way and took over for Marius as they carried Robert into the guestroom.
Robert came to his senses as he looked around. "Where…"
Vesper addressed him, "Robert? It's Vesper Prince, you're at Mirrorvale with Marius and the Magnusson's. You're safe, just hang tight while we get the Medi-Witches from St. Mungo's to take you."
"No," Robert groaned in pain. "Can't go there. It's not safe."
Marius and Vesper looked at each other. "Can you treat him?"
"Black Conor and I can attend to his minor injuries, but he'll need to see a professional to tend to his arm. To make sure it doesn't get infected."
Robert grunted, "Belle, my wife. Get Belle."
Marius nodded, "Right she's a Healer. I'll call for her immediately."
Marius went to the floo as Vesper and Black Conor took him to the room and tended to Robert in the interim. He tossed floo powder into the fireplace and called for Isabelle Gold.
He called for her at her family residence and luckily, she was there. "Marius? This is quite a surprise, what…"
"Isabelle I'm going to cut it short; Robert is here, and he is badly injured. He told us he can't go to St. Mungo's, and to call you!"
"Bobby's hurt? Give me a minute, I need to send my children to my mother's."
"There's no time, bring them through, I'll have Black Leif look after them while you tend to Robert."
Isabelle nodded, "One moment Marius." A few minutes passed before Isabelle came though the floo with her two children, Bayden and Sage, along with her kit.
Marius and Isabelle left the children in the care of Black Leif momentarily. He took Isabelle to Robert in the guest room, where Vesper and Black Conor were doing what they could for his minor wounds.
Isabelle gasped, she had tended to his wounds before, but this was by far the worst she had ever seen. Isabelle steeled her resolve as she went to work.
She sat by his bedside and prepared the salves and concoctions needed to heal her Bobby.
He opened his eyes, "Belle?"
"Shhh Bobby. Save your strength," Isabelle prepared to use all of her knowledge to help her husband.
"I'm sorry Belle," Bobby cried softly. "I'm sorry."
Belle allowed herself to shed a tear but steeled herself once again. "You're still alive Bobby, so you kept your word to always come back to me." She put gloves on her hands and put on some disinfectant to sterilize her hands. "Now hush my love. Let me do what I can to heal you."
A couple of hours passed.
Black Leif was able to put Bayden and Sage down to sleep in an adjacent guest room.
Vesper and Marius were out in the living room. Vesper had done all that she was able to do and left Black Conor to assist Isabelle.
Isabelle walked into the living room, she took off her gloves and wiped the sweat off her forehead.
Vesper and Marius walked up to her. "How is he?" Vesper asked Isabelle.
"He is stable, and apart from his arm, he will make a full recovery. That being said he will need about a month's worth of bed rest." She didn't even ask the question before Vesper beat her to the punch.
"You, Robert, and your family are welcome to stay here for however long is necessary to aid in his recovery."
"Thank you, Vesper, if the roles were reversed, Bobby and I would do the same."
Marius smiled, "It's no problem, Isabelle. It'd be nice to have some company in the house for a change."
"I take it Black Conor was able to help you," Vesper asked.
"He was of great help. He is watching over Bobby as we speak." Isabelle sighed as she sat down, "Did Bobby say anything about what happened?"
"No, but I think I have an idea who may be involved. I'll need some time to substantiate my claim," Marius rubbed his finger and thumb together. "In the meantime, take Black Leif back to your home. Gather whatever you need for a month, contact trusted family to let them know of the situation, and then return here."
Isabelle nodded, "I shall do as you ask." She turned to Black Leif, "Lead the way Black Leif."
He bowed his head, and they went through the floo to do the tasks Marius advised Isabelle to do.
Vesper looked at Marius. "Who do you think could have done this?"
"Gabriel told me that Haldana Hardbroom left the country undetected. My theory is that she went to wherever Robert was located and involved herself in whatever happened to him."
"That bitch!" Vesper swore in a rare fit of anger. "How are you going to find her?"
Marius thought to himself. "I'm going to call in a favor to Munny Dain."
"Munich?" Vesper looked puzzled, "He isn't the biggest fan of yours. Not since you took that case against his son, Oslo."
"I know Vesper, but he still has fingers on the pulse of the International MLE. Hopefully he would keep an eye out for whenever she pops her wretched head out again."
Vesper nodded, "It's a long shot, but it might work."
"It has to." Marius stated, "It has to.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
The next morning, Severus was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, talking to Silas Attenborough. "Yeah, Madam Pomfrey's having me take this awful tasting potion that cuts the craving for the ciggies. I don't know how Muggles do it."
Severus nodded. "Lily's dad quit cold turkey, without anything to help him, I mean, and he had a tough time and relapsed a couple of times before being able to quit permanently."
Silas chuckled. "The only problem now is food tastes so good that I can't stop eating."
Lily, Alice, Mary, Irene, Jane, and Emily walked into the Great Hall. Jane and Emily had been telling the others about the dung bomb incident in Slytherin House. "We even had some third-year boys Slughorn had to house in a couple empty rooms in our dorm," Emily said.
"I hope the elves have some magical formula to get rid of the smell so the boys can sleep in their own dorm!" Jane exclaimed grumpily.
They sat down at the Ravenclaw table just as Horace all but dragged himself into the Great Hall and up to the head table where he slumped into a chair next to Minerva.
"My, you actually look like something the cat dragged in," she commented with a frown.
"I had a rough night," Horace replied. "Clive?" He called. Clive popped up to the table immediately. "What can Clive do for Professor Sluggyhorn?"
"If you would, Clive, please bring me a pot of the strongest tea you have in the kitchen."
Clive nodded and popped out. He was back in a few minutes with a pot of tea wrapped in a colorful cozy. "Taeriel says this is the strongest tea we's has." Both of them knew Taeriel was the head elf in the kitchen.
"This will do fine, Clive," Horace said. "Thank you and please thank Taeriel for me." Clive nodded and popped out again.
"So, what happened last night?" Minerva asked.
Horace sighed. "Someone put two dung bombs under Mr. Crouch's bed. I had to find places to temporarily put up all the third-year boys." He sighed again. "I expect I'll be getting either a visit or a call from Bartemius later today."
"Did anybody say who did it?"
Horace shook his head. "I'm afraid Mr. Crouch is not very well liked, so nobody is talking. The third-year dorm utterly reeks! I hope the elves can get it smelling like normal by this evening."
"I'm sure they can, considering how much experience they've had with dung bombs over the years."
Filius, who had been listening to the conversation, shook his head, too. "I sometime wonder if we shouldn't make Zonko's off limits. After all, it is Argus who suffers the most after a Hogsmeade visit with the effects of the products they sell."
Horace brightened up considerably when breakfast appeared on the table. He filled his plate with bacon, sausages, two kinds of eggs, toast, and muffins. "I doubt Albus would go for it, Filius. If the rumors are true, he was quite the prankster in his day."
"And that was probably why he let Mr. Potter get away with his shenanigans for so long until they blew up in his face, thanks to Bartemius," Minerva added tartly.
The fifteen-minute warning bell sounded and there was a great deal of noise as students got up from their house tables, talking and moving through the door and into the hallway.
Severus, Lily, and Remus got up walking towards their first class while Frank and Peter walked behind with Dorian and Tav, and Jane, Emily, and Caddaric walked behind them. Sirius and Reg hung back. "So, you went through with your plan to put dung bombs under Crouch's bed?" Sirius asked.
"That straw-haired nutter deserved a take down! He forever blabbing about that moron who calls himself Lord Somebody or other and keeps saying he wants to join him as soon as he turns seventeen. Everybody just laughs at the prick!" Reg replied. "What about you? What are you going to do with the dung bombs you bought?"
Sirius nodded. "Already done. I've been following Dante and his girlfriend, and I found out they have a free period right before lunch and they always go to the Room of Requirement...probably to snog, and I planted two dung bombs on the underside of the couch. When they start really snogging and moving around, they're gonna get a big surprise! That's part revenge for last night."
Reg expression turned into one of anger. "I hope the smell makes them so sick, they end up barfing all over each other!"
"Dante's gonna find out that messing with us Blacks is a bad idea!" Sirius swore.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Severus, his book bag filled with his textbooks for his afternoon classes, stepped off the last step to the seventh floor. He went over to the wall, out of line of the Fat Lady's sight, and leaned against it, waiting for Lily to come out so they could walk down to lunch together. He was particularly pleased with himself today that he had been able to change his quill into a fan on his second try in Transfiguration.
Suddenly, he heard what sounded like muffled shouting and screaming from further down the hall and around the corner. He knew that's where the Room of Requirement was located. Something was definitely wrong. In a few minutes he heard the doors burst open and then heard choking sounds. A strong smell of dung bombs assaulted him and he quickly put his arm to his nose so he wouldn't get sick.
Lily, Alice, and Mary came out and they suddenly stopped and pinched their nostrils shut. "Ooh! Somebody planted a dung bomb somewhere!" Lily exclaimed.
Frank, Remus and Peter quickly moved backwards so the girls could come back in.
Professor McGonagall came around the corner and stopped dead in her tracks and then pulled out a handkerchief, placing it over her nose. She started in the direction from where the odor was coming but stopped as she spotted Severus. "Mr. Snape, go wait inside Gryffindor Tower before you get sick."
Severus nodded to indicate he understood her, not wanting to take his arm away from his nose to answer her. He headed toward the Fat Lady where Lily was holding open the door.
Sirius came down from the fourth-year dorm, exclaiming, "I sure hope the elves have ham sandwiches for lunch today because I'm starving!" He stopped short. "How come nobody's going down to lunch?"
"Stick your head out the door and you won't feel like eating lunch," Remus answered.
Minerva quickly walked towards the Room of Requirement as that seem to be by all indications where the smell was originating from. She found Dante Yalarad and Athena Braider alternately coughing, choking, and gagging in the hallway. "Mr. Yalarad, Miss Braider, please go immediately to hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey will give you something to ease those symptoms."
Cassidy appeared at that moment, expecting to see Dante and Athena ready to go down to lunch. He looked around him. "Dante, what the hell happened?"
"Mr. Doherty, please escort Mr. Yalarad and Miss Braider to the hospital wing and tell Madam Pomfrey they got the full force of dung bombs," Minerva ordered. "She'll know what to do."
Minerva used her wand to create a sign that read OFF LIMITS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, Professor M. McGonagall. She hung it on the wall where the doors usually appeared.
She hurried back to Gryffindor Tower and went inside. "It smells pretty bad out there, but if you want to go downstairs to lunch, you may, or I can ask the elves to bring lunch up here."
Everyone voted to have the elves bring lunch for them. The United all sat at the opposite side of the room.
Severus cast a silencing spell over them, took a bite of his tuna and mayonnaise sandwich and chewed thoughtfully before saying, "You know Dante's going to blame us for this even though we knew nothing about it or had anything to do with it."
"And I suspect in his short time here he's made enemies in every house so it could be anyone," Remus added. He had his suspicions about this, but he'd keep them to himself for the time being.
"But Dumbledore will blame us, especially since Dante is his golden boy," Pete said sourly.
"McGonagall knows we were all here when the dung bombs went off so he can't blame us," Frank pointed out.
"Don't be surprised if he does anyway," Alice stated.
"I would like to have been a fly on the wall when they went off," Sirius said with a smirk. His anger about the article in the Prophet was still bubbling under the surface and he wanted to punch the lights out of any of the United who even looked his way.
Remus stared at Sirius suspiciously, his eyes narrowed. They'd had all seen Sirius and Reg buying dung bombs yesterday at Zonko's, but he wasn't going to question Sirius where someone might overhear their discussion. It could wait until later.
Michael Ashford got up and crossed the room to where Severus and his group sat. He pretended to knock on the air above the group, saying, "Knock, knock. Anybody home?"
Severus got rid of the silencing spell and looked up at Michael. "You rang?"
"Don't you guys know it's impolite to cast a silencing spell when there's other people in the room?"
"Hey, if you guys want to cast a silencing spell, we have no objection," Frank replied with a shrug.
Sirius rose, fists clenched. "Maybe we don't want people listening in and then running and tattling to Dante."
"Sirius, sit down and be quiet!" Severus ordered sharply. He turned back to Michael, "You're right, it is impolite, and my grandmother would agree with you."
Michael looked surprised at Severus' reasonable answer. Sirius, however, was red in the face and looked ready to explode.
"Well, okay then. Just thought I'd let you know," he replied and then crossed back over to where the United were sitting.
Sirius shoved aside his half-eaten lunch and stormed out of Gryffindor Tower.
Severus sighed and got up to follow him, but Remus grabbed his arm. "Better let me go, Sev," he said softly. "Reg and I are the only ones he'll listen to when he gets like that."
Severus nodded and sat back down. Being able to turn his quill into a fan on his second try didn't seem like such a big deal anymore.
"Where did you guys sleep last night?" Lily asked Peter in a low tone. "Considering how much Sirius was storming around after he saw the front page of the Prophet."
"Me, Frank, and Remus slept in our dorm, but we moved our beds together so nobody could get the drop on us during the night. I think Sirius slept on the couch down here once he wore himself out."
"My grandfather will probably advise the Black's to sue the Prophet and Rita Skeeter and he'll represent them," Severus said.
"Mum's been saying that for years and dad says he can't figure out how she got the job in the first place," Frank added.
Alice tapped her watch and said, "We'd better get moving. We don't want to be late for class."
Mary nodded and picked up her book bag. She glanced over at Renner who nodded towards the entrance. Mary smiled and nodded back.
As Severus and Lily were walking towards their class, Lily said, "I hope all this shite doesn't come between Mary and Renner. She's been so happy lately."
"Lily Elizabeth Evans!" Severus exclaimed, pretending to be shocked by her language. "I don't think it will. Renner seems to be completely dazzled by Mary and he appears to be a pretty steady guy. I just hope Remus is able to get Sirius under control."
"Amen to that!" Lily replied fervently.
In Defense, Gabriel seemed to be keeping a wary eye on both Sam and Sirius. He still had no idea how the investigative report on Silas' death had gotten into Skeeter's hands. He didn't recall Dante or Cassidy or any other Gryffindor with bright red hands or wearing gloves when the weather was still warm to hide their red hands and Sam had done a good job of hiding the report in his trunk. He would probably need to see Scrimgeour to find out how many people, and who exactly, had had access to it.
Defense was the last class of the day. Severus and Lily walked with Remus back to the Entrance Hall. "Did you have any luck talking to Sirius?" Severus asked.
Remus shook his head regretfully. "No, and I had no luck with Reg either. He's just as angry as Sirius is and who can blame them?"
"I'd be angry, too, if somebody libeled my dad that way!" Lily declared.
Severus returned to his dorm to feed Grey his special tuna mix and give him fresh water. He petted him for a few minutes as he ate, thinking about his mum since Grey had been her familiar. He always felt comforted by Grey's presence, like his mum was still close by.
He sighed and then straightened his clothing before he went upstairs to dinner. At least they'd have one night off from Dante's crap as he and Athena were being kept overnight by Madam Pomfrey due to their full exposure to the dung bombs.
Dinner was halfway through when Dumbledore stood up, tapped on his goblet with his knife and called out, "May I have your attention!"
The students stopped talking and looked up at him. "At lunchtime today, our head boy and head girl were the victims of a serious dung bomb attack."
Horace rolled his eyes. Barty Crouch Jr. had also been the victim of a dung bomb attack and he had recovered just fine! At least Albus hadn't had to listen to Bartemius shouting at him for a half-hour about it.
Dumbledore continued. "This is a disgrace and a sign of disrespect towards the position of authority that the head boy and girl represent.
Minerva lips were in a thin line. Merlin's Staff! Albus talked about them like they were in second command of the entire school!
"Until someone confesses to it or someone else knows who did it and lets me know, further Hogsmeade visits are canceled."
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