Harry Does Different DXVII

Lily's Snivilus

"Got a question for you guys." Harry was alone with the Honourable Marauders "Snape's been trying to teach me Occlumency."

Both men blinked. It was Remus who spoke "And who thought that was a good idea? I know you don't get along with - -"

"Now you're sounding like Dumbledore." The boy shot back "And that answers your question."

Remus' look clouded for a bit before nodding "Well in that case, I must- -"

"Be wrong?" Sirius cut his friend off in annoyance "Why didn't you finish your first thought? Like Potions, Snivilus is a genius, but a piss-poor teacher. And don't deny it Harry. It's foolish to deny your enemies' talents. What Remus WOULD have said was …and we both know the art… is, never mind his lack of general teaching talent… Occlumency is not something to be taught by someone who …be polite… dislikes his student. EVER."

Harry lost patience, snapping "Not now. Not what I'm asking! I saw something in his pensieve. A memory. I want to know if it's true!"

"It would help, Harry, if we knew what you're talking about." Remus said calmly and putting a hand on his friend's chest "We can get to how you got one of Professor Snape's memories later."

Harry cooled visibly before recounting "It was at the first hill by the main entrance. You four were chasing Snape and Dad did a Winguardium, flipping him into the tree.

"There has to be a little context for that." Said Sirius. While his voice offered a bit of regret, his body language showed every indication of reliving the memory with fondness. Looking around his completely empty dining room, decided "Well why not all of it?" After exchanging a glare with his friend "There are a hundred back and forth battles, we didn't always start it, either."

Remus interjected "Truth be told, we didn't always win either."

"Be that as it may." It was Sirius' turn to glare, then continuing "So bear in mind, this is ONE time out of SEVEN YEARS. And the context for THAT incident began a bit earlier. And we'll cover this later, Lily was friends with Snape before we met. Your father decided he was going to marry your mother …ohhh… call it November 1971."

Remus chuckled at the reference "I was thinking September 8 or so, but do continue."

"Noted." Sirius quipped lightly "No doubt that started things off, and they never stopped. So, skip the intervening years for now and just prior to the occasion you're talking about: James had decided this was it. He was going to ask her out one last time, then never again. In a perfect storm of timing, as Lily came into the Great Hall just after the wonderfully busty Bonnie Broadacre …your father's most recent former girlfriend… tripped and landed in his lap. Nobody thought a thing of it. Except Lily, who cried out and fled. And James, who later told us Snape smirked at him while holstering his wand."

At this the werewolf turned pale "The three of us tore after them. We had to. He was so mad, had murder in his eyes. The scene you describe is the moment we caught up. Lily stepped between James at the inverted Severus …shaddup Padfoot… and got him to back down. When she went to help him down, he called her a Mudblood. We thought she was going to hit him, instead she called him Snivilus …and ran after James."

"So that's where it came from." Harry had been buffeted by crazy twists and turns for the past hour as the details came out.

Sirius didn't like it, so another inconvenient fact came out via Remus "Wellll …nooooo… it was invented in Fourth, by Peter."

"Don't think I'll use it, after all." Harry's expression went from dark amusement to distaste.

Playing professor he nodded "That would probably be best."

"None of us witnessed it, but Lily only used Snivilus one last time." Sirius recounted "We didn't make NEWT Potions, but she asked Professor Slughorn to change out partners. And we're told she whispered to him 'Don't challenge me on this, Snivilus' They'd been his favorite team since about Fourth Year."

Harry could only react with in awed whistle, but then "I'm surprised he didn't hit her."

"Or curse." Added Sirius, darkly "But no one would ever answer that. Yes or no." he paused to give a cutting gesture, then added "Good morning, Molly."

The redheaded woman appeared and commented "Up awful early, gentlemen." Then added curiously "How did you know I was coming?"

"Actually, we were up talking late, Molly." Replied Sirius "Ahh… if it's that time already… we're going to crash for a few extra hours. Remus, off you go. No reason to bother Ron, Harry there's a cot in the master bedroom you can use."

As they were climbing the steps, the teen noted "You didn't answer Mrs. Weasley's question, Sirius."

"Notice that, huh?" Remus reached up to lightly slap his back "Smart boy, your godson."