Chapter Fourteen: Consequences
Carlotta Pinkstone was in Hogsmeade, campaigning for lifting the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy. She believed that Muggles should know that wizards still exist. Lily attended one of her speeches.
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When he had first arrived at Hogwarts, Severus had looked forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts, which he saw basically as an extension of Charms. He did not make a clear distinction between Charms, and that subset of Charms that included Hexes, Jinxes and Curses; or between "acceptable" potions, "dangerous" potions, and "dark" potions. But the continual change-over in Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers meant that the instruction ended up being scattered and inconsistent. Severus felt he could do just as well reading and drawing on Flitwick for help as needed.
Now, though, he started to be more interested in the "Defense" aspects of the class. Last year, under Narcissa Black, he had learned to be more aware of his surroundings as her pettiness led him to be occasionally targeted himself. Simple awareness was not enough anymore. He had attracted a higher caliber of enemy, who could not be cowed with just a look. Now he had the attention of the Marauders.
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Gryffindor had Herbology with Ravenclaw, and they were just cleaning up after re-potting the mandrakes. Sirius, as usual, had been flirting, this time with a Ravenclaw who had just been dumped by her fifth year boyfriend. When they finally left the greenhouse, the fifth years were on their way back to the castle from their Care of Magical Creatures class. She spotted her ex boyfriend, and immediately drew Sirius into a very passionate, very public kiss. It was the beginning of Sirius' reputation as a boy who never turned down an opportunity. Or lacked one.
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Severus knocked on the door to Professor Flitwick's office.
Flitwick opened the door. He hadn't expected to see his top pupil, but then, it did happen from time to time. Just last week, the boy had needed help removing an insulting nickname from the back of his robes. In the second term of his third year, Snape's skill at Charms and particularly his inventiveness were matched only by a few of the professor's NEWT level students. "Come in, Severus," he said.
He motioned the boy to a couch along one wall, and seated himself in the armchair across a coffee table from it. With a silent wave of his wand, biscuits and a pitcher of chilled pumpkin juice wafted in from the other room, together with two goblets. "I was getting ready for a bit of a snack. Care to join me?"
"Thank you, sir," Severus answered, and poured himself some of the pumpkin juice.
"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" the professor asked.
"I want to learn to cast wards," Severus asked. "Will you teach me?"
Casting wards was fifth year work, which should be covered by the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. But Flitwick wasn't surprised the boy hadn't asked the current teacher. She was a Hufflepuff who believed that students should adhere strictly to the curriculum for the year they were in, and was rather taken aback that most of the other teachers saw no problem with advanced tutoring for their most talented students.
"Certainly," he said.
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Severus was at a loss. He couldn't exactly fault Potter's gang for wanting revenge for the hex on Lupin, although their real target should have been Regulus Black. By any standard he recognized, that hex had been totally unprovoked. But now, he was in a precarious position. The Marauders had established two very dangerous precedents: first of all, that he could be attacked without reprisal; and secondly, that the way to do it was to gang up on him.
And Severus's hands were tied as far as reprisal was concerned. The only Marauders he might be permitted to touch were Pettigrew and Lupin. The pure-blood leaders were off-limits to him. There was a pure-blood enforcer, fourth year Goyle, who could be called upon. But Crabbe, unsuprisingly, saw nothing that needed enforcement. Regulus Black's crowd had actually joined in the laughter at the Gryffindors' joke.
The results were completely predictable. The first wave involved trying to steal his books -- which ended after three different perpetrators ended up with green, itching hands. Then there were the people who tried to knock him down in the corridors. If constant surveillance of his surroundings was unable to keep him from facing such a situation, he used the Shield Charm and just shoved his way through, even though he risked losing House points or detention by using magic in the halls.
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Make no mistake about it, Remus had been more than happy to play his part in "redecorating" Snape's robes. Forcing him to answer to Snivellus had been his very own improvisation to the proceedings. But as he watched the fallout from the prank, he began to feel uneasy.
When he recovered from the full moon that May, the Slytherin boy was not there for any part of his post transformation treatment. When he asked Madam Pomfrey about him, she said he hadn't been in at all since the fur hexing incident. That was wrong.
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In June, Lucius Malfoy married Narcissa Black. His right hand man from Hogwarts, Rodolphus Lestrange, married her sister Bellatrix.
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Severus sat next to Damocles at the back of the room in Runes class. Other than the now obligatory attempts of the Gryffindors to call him Snivellus, the class was pretty calm. He and Damocles had worked out a procedure for the end of class. The two of them would leave last, so that Severus had his back covered when he left, but also couldn't be jumped when he was the last one left in the classroom.
Remus figured right after Runes was as good a time as any to approach the Slytherin. He was hoping to get Snape alone, but Belby was still hanging around. Well, it might be the best he could do. He came over to Snape's desk, where the other boy was arranging his scrolls, books and quills in his book bag.
"Hi, Severus."
Seeing one of the Marauders approach Snape, Belby immediately moved between the two. "You don't want to be late for your next class, do you, Lupin?" he asked pleasantly enough, but with an edge to his voice.
At the same time, Severus looked up, surprised to hear his first name from Lupin instead of Snivellus. "Do you want something, Lupin?" he asked coolly.
"Madam Pomfrey says you haven't been helping at the Infirmary lately," Remus went on doggedly, despite the cool reception.
"To everyone's relief, no doubt," Severus responded, with the same tone as before.
"No, not everyone's," Remus countered. "Damn it, Snape, can't we just call it even?" He reached out his hand.
Severus took it, his face still impassive. "As you wish. Remus."
The Gryffindor's face brightened visibly at the change to his first name. "Good. I'll be seeing you around, then." He left the classroom feeling that he had done his part to make things right.
"My, my, Severus," said Damocles. "Two Gryffindor friends. Sluggy would be so proud of you. 'To friendship between the Houses!'"
Severus smirked at Belby's perfect imitation of a Slughorn toast.
"More like one and a half," he corrected. "Lupin only recognizes me when the rest of Potter's gang isn't around. And now there's just the small matter of getting the rest of the school to leave me alone."
"To Gryffindor recklessness! Do what you want, and to hell with the consequences!" Belby used Slughorn's manner of speaking and gestures for a toast the Professor would never have made.
Severus laughed. "Here, here!" he said, downing an imaginary glass of butterbeer.
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Remus was glad to see Severus helping in the Infirmary again after his transformation in June.
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Author's note:
Carlotta Pinkstone is on a Famous Wizards card, and was JKR's Wizard of the Month for November 2005. According the HP Lexicon:
Pinkstone, Carlotta (1922 present) "Famous campaigner for lifting the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy and telling Muggles that wizards still exist. Ms Pinkstone has been imprisoned several times for her blatant and deliberate use of magic in public places."