“And she couldn’t keep her hands off me.” William Travers grinned. “Right there on the beach with everyone watching.”
Severus Snape attempted to look interested in Travers’s boasting. It was something he was used to dealing with. After the summer vacation, all the Slytherins tended to spend most of the train ride bragging, and swapping and comparing stories. Snape didn’t bother competing with them; instead, he acted as if he were ‘above’ such frivolous endeavours.
“She was two years older than me too,” Travers continued, enjoying the envious glances. All five of Snape’s roommates were there: William Travers, David Avery, Rowan Mulciber, Zachary Wilkes, and Evan Rosier.
According to Travers, he’d had an intense summer romance with the seventeen-year-old daughter of a family friend “ she didn’t attend Hogwarts “ on some exotic island. Travers certainly looked liked he’d spent his summer in the sun; his tanned skin brought out his blue eyes and complemented his blonde hair.
“Does she happen to have a sister?” Zachary Wilkes asked casually. He had his hands folded behind his head, and his new prefect badge glinted in the light.
“Yes, but she’s a tad young for you,” Travers replied with a laugh. “She’s only eight.”
“What about you, Snape? Get lucky with that Mudblood of yours?” Evan Rosier inquired.
Snape kept his face impassive. His roommates liked nothing more than to mock him about his infatuation with Lily. Of course, they saw it as one-sided lust, and Snape wanted to keep it that way. As long as they believed Lily was completely out of his league, they’d both be safe. After all, it wasn’t the first time a wizard had been entranced by the wiles of a Mudblood female. Lily was his first friend, but it wasn’t as if he could explain this to his Slytherin friends.
“Have you been with a girl lately Rosier?” Severus quipped back.
“Is your Mudblood holding out? She looks like a prude to me,” Rosier said, not answering the question.
“We don’t have contact “ romantic or otherwise,” Snape replied evenly. It wasn’t an outright lie. He’d barely seen or spoken to Lily this summer.
“As it should be,” Rowan Mulciber said, entering the conversation. Snape gave a slight nod of his head. Mulciber's dark eyes turned on Snape. “Don’t waste your efforts on a Mudblood “ there are dozens of purer, worthier girls. Though, we understand you have needs Severus, and if Miss Evans can satisfy them, well . . .”
Everyone in the compartment but Severus made noises of agreement and approval. He knew his face was red in embarrassment. He didn’t like hearing them speak of Lily in this crude manner “ his Lily. She was an attractive girl; Snape was naïve to think no other male would notice.
“Good thing you are so adept at Love Potions, eh?” Rosier pointed out suggestively.
Wilkes looked Severus up and down. “He wouldn’t need Love Potions if he stepped outside once in a while. Girls are alarmed by your paleness, Severus.”
When Severus remained silent, Rosier spoke for him, “We all know Snape has more important things to do than lying in the sun.”
“That’s right,” Snape replied. “I had a productive summer.”
Snape was known for his extensive knowledge of curses and hexes, and he had continued advancing his knowledge over the summer. None of them knew, however, that he’d been working on inventing spells, and Snape couldn’t wait to awe them.
“Well show us!” Wilkes demanded. The five occupants of the compartment looked at Snape with a mixture of eagerness, greed, and apprehension.
“Not here,” hissed Snape.
“You don’t have to worry about the prefects. I told them I’d take care of this compartment,” Wilkes explained with a wave of his hand.
“Shouldn’t you be patrolling?” Snape asked.
“Nah, Joanne Fin is Head Girl. She won’t write me up.” He named a seventh-year Slytherin.
“And Head Boy?”
“Jacob Long from Ravenclaw, and he won’t interfere if he knows what’s good for him.”
“I’ll show you tonight,” Snape insisted, closing the subject.
“I think the amount of first years has doubled from last year,” Remus Lupin said as he strode over to Lily. “This one wouldn’t believe me when I said they’d be traveling to the castle by boats. He said I was lying and that he’d tell his older brother on me.”
Lily laughed. As the new Gryffindor prefects, they were supposed to make sure all the students got safely off the train, first years towards the boats and the rest of the students into the carriages.
The rain had subsided for the most part, but the sky was still threatening. She scanned the crowd, not looking for anyone in particular. Her eyes stopped suddenly on Potter and Black. The two of them were laughing at something “ they were always laughing and always together. Her gaze stayed on Potter, shifting from his messy hair waving in the breeze to his lips curled in mirth . . . .
Mary McDonald thought Potter had a cute butt . . . .
Lily shook her head “ why on earth had her thoughts strayed to Potter like that? And now Remus was looking at her strangely. Had he noticed her longer-than-necessary gaze at Potter?
“I’m glad to be back at Hogwarts; aren’t you?” he asked.
She nodded, thankful that he was too much of a gentleman to say anything about her staring at James.
“My sister Petunia can’t understand it. She hates school.”
“She goes to Hogwarts?” Remus asked in surprise.
“No, a Muggle school.” She suddenly spotted Severus skulking in the crowd. She hadn’t seen him on the platform or the train. Severus’s eyes met hers, but he would not approach her while she stood there talking with Lupin. Severus had made enemies with Black and Potter the first day at Hogwarts “ on the train ride “ through an argument over Houses. Lupin was friends with Potter and Black, so that automatically made him Severus's enemy as well. “I see Severus. Do you mind? I haven’t spoken with him in ages.”
“Snape?” For the second time in a short period, Remus looked at her strangely. “Oh, right. Go ahead.”
“We live close to each other. I knew him before Hogwarts,” she said quickly, even though she didn’t owe Lupin an explanation.
Lily walked toward Snape swiftly. He smiled as she drew closer. Snape didn’t genuinely smile often, though she’d told him once how much friendlier and more approachable he looked when he did.
“Lily!” She felt the intensity of his eyes on her. “I missed you on the train.”
“I know. All these prefect duties. They make the fifth years do most of the patrolling,” Lily said. “Your mate Wilkes was already skiving duties.”
“I know,” Snape replied. “He was pretty confident he wouldn’t be written up.”
“He probably won’t with Fin as Head Girl. No one was thrilled to hear she’d been appointed “ apparently she’s never taken her duties seriously.”
“Gryffindors have always hated it when a Slytherin beats them at something…”
“It wasn’t only Gryffindor prefects complaining, Sev,” Lily retorted. She hated this. The rivalry between their Houses was always there, even if it went unspoken.
Lily felt herself being pushed into Snape as someone roughly walked by them. It was Leila Yaxley, and wherever she was headed, she looked very intent on her destination.
Severus opened his mouth to add something, but “
“Sirius Black!”
Lily and Severus weren’t the only ones to look towards the voice. Lily was surprised to find that it was Leila Yaxley who had yelled the name. The din of the crowd lowered considerably; every student nearby was watching the scene with interest.
Black looked up, unconcerned, as if girls regularly yelled his name across crowds.
“Yes?” Black asked, crossing his arms.
Leila strode up right in front of him. “Because of you “ because of what you did “ my parents did not let me out of their sight for the whole summer! I couldn’t leave the house without a chaperon!”
“Do you know what this is about?” Lily whispered to Severus.
“No,” Snape answered back with a growl. Snape looked disappointed by her interest. After all, she wasn’t like some of her friends, who lived on gossip.
“Are you sure it was because of me?” Sirius asked.
“Yes! Merlin, Sirius, my father likes to entertain the idea that I’ve never held hands with a boy “ let alone kissed one!”
Lily glanced at Snape, and he reluctantly shared a smile.
“Can I offer another kiss in lieu of an apology?”
There was a sudden silence. Leila looked ready to slap Sirius, but she was so shocked by the audacity of his question that she could not move nor speak.
“No?” Sirius asked.
Leila’s face was now turning rather stormy.
“Look, I did you a favour….”
“A favour?” Leila’s voice rose.
“Now you can have a proper pureblood marriage. I’m a Gryffindor, a blood-traitor. Surely you’ve always expected a better match than that?”
“Did you ever stop to think I didn’t care?”
It was Sirius’s turn to be stunned into silence. However, he didn’t have a chance to respond properly.
“Black, Yaxley, could you please continue your lovers' spat in the carriages?” Jacob Long, the Head Boy, had broken through the crowd.
Leila whirled around, disappearing into the mass of students, her friends pushing through everyone to run after her.
“Come on! Move it into the carriages,” Long called out to everyone, and slowly, buzzing with new gossip, students complied.
“Did you know they were dating?” Lily asked Snape.
“They aren’t,” Severus snapped shortly.
“Something went on between them . . . .” Lily murmured.
“If you care so much about it, why don’t you just ask Black?” Snape questioned sourly. His face softened a little after a moment. “Let’s go find a carriage “”
“Lily!” a group of girls squealed. Lily and Severus were suddenly surrounded by her group of friends, all chatting, hugging, and laughing. She could sense that Severus was growing uncomfortable as her friends pushed Snape to the side.
He started walking away. She ran after him, stopping him with a light hand on his shoulder. He looked startled by her touch. “I can’t sit with you Severus. I need to hang back with the prefects to make sure no one is left behind.” Snape looked so disappointed that she added, “We’ll catch up later.”
“Right,” Severus muttered under his breath. He was gone without saying goodbye. She was losing Snape “ their friendship slowly dissipating “ and she didn’t know what to do about it.
The Great Hall was adorned with splendour. The ceiling mirrored the night sky, hundreds of candles floated in the air, and the banners of the four houses hung proudly above each of the four tables.
“I reckon she really likes you,” James said to Sirius as they sat down beside each other at the Gryffindor table. Remus and Peter took seats across from them.
Sirius shrugged. He’d thought he’d taken care of the Leila situation over the summer. He wanted Leila to leave him alone, but at the same time, he couldn’t hide from the fact that he’d been very disappointed that Leila hadn’t taken his offer of a second kiss.
“I wish we didn’t have to wait until after the sorting to eat,” Peter complained. Sirius, James, and Remus shared a smile at Peter’s comment; he said that same thing every year.
The first years entered and the annual sorting began. Sirius had a sudden flashback to his brother’s sorting two years back. Regulus, with all the majesty of a proper Black, had strutted up to the chair, placing the hat securely on his head, and looked straight at Sirius as the Hat called “Slytherin!” Regulus had acted so smug and satisfied that first week of school whenever he and his brother had met. It had driven Sirius crazy, but if there was any competition for their parents’ affection, it was all in Regulus’s mind. Sirius didn’t need his mother or father’s approval, or at least he did whatever he could to convince others that he didn’t care a wit about them.
Looking over at the Slytherin table, Sirius received an unwelcome surprise. Regulus was seated beside Snape, and they were conversing. He had never seen them acting so friendly before in public, though he wasn’t privy to what went on in the Slytherin Common Room.
The last first year became a Hufflepuff, and Professor Dumbledore stood up, ready with his welcoming speech. It was quick, reminding students of the rules and introducing the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Keenan. The new teacher was in his mid-twenties, with dark hair and eyes, and he was dressed in casual wizard robes in stark contrast with the other Professors’ formal wear.
“He looks like he could be fun,” James murmured.
“Oh, he’s so handsome!” a sixth-year girl seated next to Sirius whispered excitedly, and the girls around her giggled.
The food appeared on the table, and everyone began eating.
By the time the desserts appeared, Sirius was so stuffed that he couldn’t properly enjoy the assortment of cakes and cookies. Then the same sixth-year girl who’d thought Professor Keenan was good looking handed him a folded note written on pale green paper.
“Who’s this from?” he asked her suspiciously, but the girl said she didn’t know. She was just passing the note along.
Sirius unfolded the note as discreetly as he could, though James leaned over so he could read it. Leila Yaxely wanted to meet after the feast in a not so well-travelled area of the first floor. All the students would be headed to their respective Houses, so they’d be very alone.
“Maybe she changed her mind about the kiss,” James sniggered.
“From Yaxley?” Peter asked eagerly.
“Yes.” His answer so soft that it was barely audible.
“She wants to meet Sirius alone in a dark corridor,” James elaborated.
“You get all the luck,” Peter said enviously. Peter was oblivious to the fact Sirius didn’t look too keen on receiving this girl’s attention.
“Are you going to meet her?” Remus asked.
“I don’t know,” Sirius replied crumpling the note in his hand.
At the welcoming feast, Severus was disappointed to find himself seated next to Regulus Black. It wasn’t as if Snape had a choice; Rabastan Lestrange, a seventh year, had invited both of them into his circle of friends.
Snape knew he should try to get along with Regulus, but he found Black to be as haughty and cocky as his older brother. The Blacks were strong allies with the Malfoys, and Lucius Malfoy, who’d graduated a few years ago, had taken an interest in Severus since his first year. Lucius would have expected him to be civil and polite to the boy. However, staying silent proved to be too much, and Severus couldn’t stop himself from saying snidely, “I see your brother made a spectacle of himself again.”
Regulus bristled, just as Snape had intended.
“Yaxely did as well,” Lestrange interjected, surprising Snape, until he remembered that Rabastan’s older brother Rodolphus had recently married Black’s cousin Bellatrix, so it was only natural he’d be more concerned about the Blacks’ standing. “She had better watch her behaviour, or her only suitor will be Sirius.”
Lestrange waited a moment for someone to contradict his statement. No one did.
“How are things with you, Snape?” Lestrange asked. His change of topic made it quite clear there would be nothing more said about Sirius at the table.
“You live in a very Muggle-inhabited area, don’t you?” Regulus asked. “How do you stand it? Living with all that filth? Who knows what you might have contracted?”
Regulus was being perfectly serious. He, like many pure-bloods, truly believed that Muggles were lesser beings. Snape agreed to a certain point. Just thinking of his Muggle father and Lily’s sister . . . both idiots. Lily’s Muggle parents, whom Snape had met on occasion weren’t as awful as his father, but their naiveté made them weak. Though Severus lived in a poor neighbourhood, he was among the richest and elitist of the wizarding world. It was not hard for Snape to agree with his Housemates’ disdainful views of Muggles because he came across so many Muggles who were definitely not excellent examples of the human race. After all, having magic made wizards stronger and more powerful, so did this not also make them the better race?
“It is difficult, but I manage,” Severus answered stiffly. “And Muggles do have their uses . . . .” He let the sentence hang.
Rabastan grinned widely. “They sure do.”
“But surely you can’t do magic “ you’re underage, and with all those Muggles around . . . the Ministry would never allow it,” Regulus protested.
“Ah, but my house is considered magical. Inside I can do all the magic I want. My Mum has no qualms, so it’s just a matter of luring the Muggle inside, and then I can have all the fun I want.”
Snape was exaggerating just a tad, making it sound as if he made regular business of bating innocent Muggles. He’d only done it to those that truly deserved it.
“You allow them inside your house?” Regulus sounded revolted.
“Don’t be a baby, Regulus,” admonished Lestrange. “We have no reason to fear Muggles. Their filth and dirt can be dealt with. If Snapes needs victims to practice on, then at least he’s being smart about it.”
Severus cast a triumphant look at Regulus. It was rare to receive a compliment in front of a Black.
When the feast ended, Severus separated himself from the students heading to the lower regions of the castle. Wilkes was leading the first years to the dungeons; apparently this was a job he could not slither out of. He decided on a longer, less-travelled route to the Slytherin common room. Snape was so lost in his thoughts “ mainly about Lily “ that it took a moment for the call of his loathsome nickname to register.
“Oy, Snivellus!”
Ahead of Snape stood Sirius Black, who was leaning against a wall lazily, wand in hand. Snape regarded the boy warily, expecting Potter to pop out at any moment.
“Are you lost Black?” Snape asked, slowly moving his hand inside his robes to retrieve his wand.
“What were you and my brother talking about during the feast?” Sirius asked, his wand still held loosely in his hand.
Snape’s own hand froze on his wand. Did Sirius think he and Regulus were buddies? Did Sirius still care about his younger brother? His mind whirled, calculating the ways to exploit this information.
Snape grinned maliciously. “Just talking. Regulus is very eager to prove that he isn’t a failure like you. There are so many things I can teach him.”
Sirius growled. “Stay away from him.”
“You’ll have to take that up with him. Your brother practically begged to be seated next to me.”
Funny that Sirius would go after Snape when Lestrange and Mulciber held a much greater level of control over Regulus.
“He doesn’t need you poisoning his mind!”
“If you need someone to blame, just look in the mirror. If you’d only fulfilled your duties as heir, Regulus might not feel the need to rectify all your “”
Severus was unable to finish the sentence. With two swishes, Black disarmed him and placed a Leg“Locker Curse on him. Snape fell to the ground with a crash.
“Snape?” a female voice called.
Severus looked up from his position on the floor. Leila Yaxley was staring down at him with a bewildered expression on her face, but she did not seem at all surprised to see Sirius.
“Lift the curse, Sirius,” Leila commanded.
“Why should I?” argued Sirius.
It suddenly dawned on Snape. Yaxley and Black were not there by coincidence. They’d clearly planned to meet in this very hallway “ by a stroke of rotten luck, he’d gotten in the way.
“I suggest you do what she says, young man.”
A fourth person had joined their group: the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Keenan.
Sirius glanced at the new teacher, gauging the level of authority he held, before grudgingly lifting the curse. Severus sprung to his feet, dusting off his robes.
“I may be new here, but even I know magic is not allowed in the hallways,” Professor Keenan said, surveying the three of them carefully. “You should all be on your way to your common rooms.”
“I was, sir,” Snape said. “I was just walking when Sirius Black attacked me.” Severus pointed dramatically at his attacker.
“Is that so, Mr. Black?” Professor Keenan asked sternly.
Sirius didn’t refute the claim.
“And what were you doing here, Miss . . .?”
“Leila Yaxley,” she said quickly. “I was meeting Mr. Black.”
The Professor raised his eyebrows. “Ah . . .”
“It isn’t against the rules, sir. We’re all in fifth year, and our curfew isn’t until a few hours from now,” she replied.
“This is a rather suspicious area to meet “ quiet, dark, hallway with lots of empty classrooms.”
Leila’s face turned a light shade of pink, and she wouldn’t look directly at the teacher. It took more than that light insinuation to embarrass Sirius, who still had a defiant look about him.
“I’ll pretend your intentions were innocent and leave it at that,” Keenan stated. “What House are you in, Mr. Black?”
Sirius did not reply.
“You are already in trouble young man. It will only be advantageous for you to cooperate.”
“Gryffindor.”
“Miss Yaxley?”
“Slytherin.”
“And I haven’t gotten your name yet . . . .” Keenan’s statement was directed at Severus.
“Severus Snape. Slytherin as well.”
“I’ll be seeing you all bright and early tomorrow.”
“What?” Sirius blurted out.
“I’m teaching fifth-year Gryffindors and Slytherins first period,” Keenan explained. “And you, Mr. Black, will see me after class, when we will discuss a suitable punishment.”
“Only me?” Sirius retorted angrily.
“You’re the only one who broke a rule. Now you will all return to your common rooms. You first, Mr. Black.”
Sirius viciously pocketed his wand and strode off in a huff.
“May I say something, sir?” Snape asked once Black’s figure was no longer visible.
Professor Keenan nodded.
“Detention isn’t a suitable punishment for Black. He receives them all the time; it’s nothing to him.” The words came out of his mouth quickly “ he didn’t want to be interrupted.
“Another student’s punishment is none of your concern, Mr. Snape.” The professor’s tone had a distinct coldness to it. “Go on now you two.”
“Good night, sir,” Leila said. Severus was surprised by the speed of her walk; he had to jog to keep up with her. Leila’s social status may have been a few pegs higher on the totem pole than Snape’s, but he was not going to let that deter him from discussing a few things with her.
She suddenly stopped and turned to him sharply, “What were you doing in that corridor Snape?”
“Did I ruin your plans to snog Black? What will your parents think? Not very lady-like behaviour.”
“You’re in no position to laugh at me. You’re the one going after Mudbloods.”
There it was again: the mention of Lily’s blood status. It had never crossed Severus’s mind that so many students would even be aware that there was anything “ even just friendship “ between Lily and him. The Slytherin girls were generally blind to his existence, but apparently he wasn’t as invisible as he’d always thought. Of course, the teasing from his roommates on the train before wouldn’t have bothered him so much if there wasn’t that dangerous undertone about blood purity.
“Is Black any better? Don’t forget he’s a blood traitor. He admitted it himself. And Black hates anything to do with Slytherin; he’ll never date you in public.”
“Black can grow out of it, but a Mudblood will always be a Mudblood. I think Black is interested, or he wouldn’t have agreed to meet me. Plus, I know how to be persuasive if needed.” Leila flipped her hair at him condescendingly. “On the other hand, you’d need all the love potions and enchantments known to wizard-kind to get any female interested in you.”
Snape curled his fists. He’d been mistaken. He’d begun the conversation thinking Leila was embarrassed to be found alone with Black. He’d even hoped that she would be willing to trade him something for his silence.
Now he was the one who needed her silence about Lily. The less people spoke about them the better. Leila was popular enough, especially in Slytherin, that she could make his life very difficult. Perhaps there was still a way to win her over, after all most people responded to flattery.
“You needn’t worry about Black’s interest. Since nothing happened between you two this evening, he’ll be thinking about you all night.”
“Very good, Snape. Very insightful,” Leila said smirking.
“If Black does prove to be resistant - I can be of service of you.”
“How?” Despite herself, she sounded interested.
“Potion brewing.” He didn’t elaborate further. She’d know what type of potions he was referring to.
“In return?”
“Protection.”
Though Snape still enjoyed some privileges from being Lucius Malfoy’s “ who had graduated three years ago “ protégé, he no longer had the same protection as he’d had those first few years. Back in first, second, and third year, he’d usually come off better on any run-ins with Black and Potter because he had a slew of older Slytherin students willing to join in at a moment’s notice. The help had been greatly decreased last year, and only Rabastan Lestrange was left among the Slytherin gang that had taken him in his first year.
The older Slytherins had always appreciated Snape’s talents more than his peers had. Now the Slytherins only had his back if it was near a Quidditch game or if the Gryffindors had done something to incur the wrath of more than just Snape.
“Is this about the silly feud between you, Potter, and Black?”
“All I want is back-up. Do you think it’s fair that Potter and Black attack me two on one?”
Leila cocked her head to the side. “I’ll think about it.”